Freedom
by Cleone
Summary: Sasuke and Naruto didn't think of their intimate relationship as sinful. But now they're about to pay dearly... RECONTINUED DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND!
1. SIN

**A/N: Heya! Linda speaking! Finally decided to post another fic on this lamer site. I can tell ya, I was rather pissed that they deleted "Touch me, Hold me". That story took a long while to write! Ah well…FF.N is being pretty goddamn strict with things. **

**Warnings and Such: Sasu/Naru! Don't like it? Don't read it and don't leave me with a flame that says "EWWW! Sasu/Naru! What is wrong with you?" I'm giving everyone a fair warning right now.**

**There are also some religious deals in here, so if that offends you as well…leave. **

**SIN**

In a way, it was quite obvious that the two boys had a thing going on for one another. The name-calling, the pointless arguments, the so called "hate" between them…it was like a schoolgirl romance. So, so obvious.

They were forced to spend time with each other, and soon a small friendship developed. They had matured and the name-calling and fighting had ceased. Instead, they treated each other with the same love and care that brothers would have. Almost every minute of everyday the boys were seen together. They were inseparable.

That strong friendship slowly blossomed into a sweet romance. The boys both tried to deny it, but it was impossible. Their feelings for the other grew and after a while they had finally confessed to each other their love. They vowed to stick by each other, no matter how tough things got or how much hatred they'd get from the rest of the village. But surprisingly enough, the village didn't seem to mind that the two boys were in love….

That is, with the exception of one group.

This group calls themselves "SIN". They are an underground Christian organization whose motto is "To clear the world of anyone different and to make the earth free from all its' wrongs." By anyone different, they mean cripples, mentally disabled, those of other religion and…gays and lesbians.

The group has its' own party set up in every village in every country. The members are all elite ninja. The Konoha party didn't have much work to do, but now they saw a prime opportunity…

The most hated by in the whole village was _gay_. This was too good to pass up.

* * *

Naruto skipped happily to Sasuke's house, humming an upbeat tune and his spirits rising to the sky. This was how he started every morning: making a trip to Sasuke's house and waking the boy up. Everyone thought Sasuke was a totally organized person, but Naruto knew better. He was a total slob, showered only a few times a week (with Naruto joining him, of course), and woke up at noon on the weekends. You wouldn't have expected that, huh?

Naruto hurried up Sasuke's front porch steps and knocked several times on his door.

"Oy! Wake up, you-"

Suddenly, the door opened and a hand quickly grabbed Naruto by his shirt. Naruto gasped as he was pulled through the door and right into Sasuke, who was half-naked and very tired looking. He slammed the door and glared at Naruto.

"Dobe! It's noon on Saturday!"

Narutp scratched his head and grinned innocently. "Aw, I just wanted to spend time with you!"

Sasuke sighed exasperatedly and ran his fingers through his hair. "Whatever."

His arms snaked around Naruto's waist and pressed him against his chest. Naruto closed his eyes and leaned up against him.

"I'll remember not to come so early."

Sasuke ruffled Naruto's sunshine hair. "If you stayed the night, then you wouldn't even hafta walk all the way over here."

Naruto smiled. "I know. I just wasn't feeling good last night."

Sasuke cleared his throat and pushed Naruto away. "I'm hungry. Make me breakfast."

Naruto frowned. "HEY! You should make breakfast! You're the host!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned away from him. "I have to go get ready, so you make breakfast. Just don't set off the smoke alarm like you did last time."

Naruto growled under his breath as Sasuke went up the stairs. "Son of a bitch…"

He stomped into the kitchen and yanked open a cabinet. He searched around for a moment and took out a box of chocolate chip pancake mix. He set it down and grabbed a mixing bowl.

"I hate him, I hate him, I hate him," Naruto grumbled. "And yet…" He smiled. "I love him."

About fifteen minutes later, the boys were seated at the table with a plate of gooey-looking pancakes between them. Sasuke lifted his fork and poked one.

"Umm…are these even edible?"

Naruto'd brow twitched. "Of course they are! They're the best goddamn pancakes you'll ever eat!"

Sasuke cut off a piece of the pancake with his fork and slowly chewed it. He closed his eyes tightly as he swallowed.

"These are the worst goddamn pancakes I'll ever eat."

Naruto stood up. "WHAT!" He roared. "THEY'RE GOOD, GODDAMMIT! YOU'RE JUST-"

Sasuke sighed. "I'll take you out for ramen."

That seemed to satisfy him. Naruto cheered and jumped up.

"YES! RAMEN!" He jumped into Sasuke's lap and gave him a big, wet kiss. "ILOVEYOUILOVEYOUILOVEYOUILOVEYOU!"

Sasuke grimaced. "I know, I know, Now get off."

Naruto jumped off his lap and grabbed his arm. "Come on! Let's go! Beef ramen is calling my name!"

* * *

"Brother?"

"Yes?"

"Is that them?"

"Yes, I believe so."

Behind a brick building stood three people: two young men and a young woman. The woman turned to the taller man.

"But they're so young."

The other men, the shorter one, scoffed. "But they're still a bunch of trash."

The woman turned around and watched Sasuke and Naruto walk down the street together, arms linked.

"…They shouldn't walk around like that."

The taller one took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. "Goddamn queers. They make me sick."

The short one leaned next to the tall one. "So, Naoki-san, when shall we get them?"

The one called Naoki took a puff of his cigarette. "As soon as possible."


	2. GREED

**A/N: Sorry for not updating for an extremely long time. I must become more responsible. **

**GREED**

The two boys headed back to Sasuke's house after an extremely large and filling meal consisting of nothing but beef flavored ramen. They much preferred going to Sasuke's house rather than Naruto's, since it was on the outskirts of the village and much quieter. And much cleaner, too.

Sasuke dug into his pocket and took out a silver colored key. He quickly opened the door and allowed Naruto inside before him. For some reason, he was especially horny this morning. The ramen must've had some sort of aphrodisiac hiding in the broth.

Naruto must've felt the same because he grabbed Sasuke's hand and dragged him up the stairs and into the bedroom. He had been there so many times that he automatically knew where to find it.

Sasuke shut and locked the door behind him and let himself be led to the bed by the shorter blonde boy. At first, it was pretty cute how shy and embarrassed Naruto was, constantly blushing and covering up his body. But by now he had gotten more comfortable with Sasuke and had no shame at all in being absolutely rid of his clothing in front of his lover.

Naruto sat down on the mattress and was soon followed by Sasuke. They were both in the mood and desperate to the point of insanity, but something just didn't feel right. It was the same feeling they had both felt on the way to the ramen bar. A feeling of…insecurity. Like someone had been watching them very closely. A very angry and hateful someone.

Sasuke glanced over at his partner. "So…here we are. On the bed."

Naruto nodded. "Y-yeah."

Sasuke leaned over and tried to study the expression on Naruto's face. It was somewhat sad, the exact opposite of what it had been that morning. Sasuke remembered when he had seen that expression. It used to be on the boy's face all the time when they were younger. That was when he was still lonely and before he and Sasuke had started this happy relationship.

'Happy…'Sasuke thought.

He reached under Naruto's chin and lifted his head slightly. "Hey kid, what's wrong?"

Naruto looked back at Sasuke, still wearing the gloomy frown. "Sasuke…did you see all the people?"

Sasuke blinked. "What?"

Naruto continued. "Did you see all the people looking at us this morning?"

"No, actually, I don't even notice the looks people give us anymore."

Naruto looked away from him. "I do. They looked…disgusted."

"Oh…"

Naruto lifted a hand and stroked Sasuke's cheek. "Sasuke, I hate being different."

Sasuke touched his hand lightly. "What are you trying to say, Naruto?"

Naruto didn't respond as he continued to caress Sasuke's face. He knew that he didn't deserve him. Sasuke deserved someone who was gorgeous and loving and sweet and smart…

And not some ugly blonde kid who was shunned from the rest of the village.

Just the thought welled tears up in Naruto's eyes. Surely, Sasuke would leave him soon. He knew it.

Sasuke took notice to this and brushed away the tears gently. Seeing him in pain was something that he hated to see. Naruto had gone through too much suffering before. Sasuke took his hand away from Naruto's face and pressed his smaller frame against his body.

"Naruto…if you want to call it quits-"

Naruto's eyes widened. "NO!" He pulled away and looked into Sasuke's eyes. "No! Sasuke, I can't live without you! You're my everything! If I didn't have you, I-I'd probably be dead."

Naruto bit down on his lip and buried his head in Sasuke's chest. Sasuke ruffled his blonde hair and kissed the top of his head lightly.

"Don't worry, Naruto. I'll be here as long as you want me to be here."

The two stayed silent as they held each other. Finally, Naruto climbed onto his lap and grinned.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke smiled. "Hm?"

Naruto grabbed him by the shoulders and pinned him on the bed. "Let's get it on."

And the morning wore on…

* * *

"So, Michiko…" Naoki tossed his cigarette on the floor as he addressed his younger sister. "What do you have for us?"

Michiko ran her hand lightly through her shoulder length blonde hair. "Nothing much, Brother."

Naoki smiled. "I have a feeling you're lying to me."

Michiko gulped and fingered the gold cross around her neck. The truth was, even if there was something that was worthy enough to report to the rest of the organization, it just blew right past her as she was spying on Sasuke and Naruto. Well, actually, more like spying on just Sasuke.

Michiko hated to admit it, but she had begun to have a physical attraction to Sasuke, and she hadn't even met him! As she was watching the two boys make love, she felt a flame of jealousy and wished that she was the one being crushed underneath the taller man, sweating and moaning and screaming out in pleasure with every thrust of his beautiful body. Michiko's family, including her brother, felt very strongly on preserving her virginity, which made her want to lose it even more. And this man (what was his name again?) was the perfect one to give herself to.

Michiko shook her head and let go of her cross. 'No! Thinking that is sinful!'

She cleared her throat and changed the subject. "Brother…the taller man with the dark hair…what is his name?"

Naoki reached his hand into his pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes. Michiko had always thought it strange that he wouldn't even let her drink soda, and yet he was allowed to smoke.

"I believe his name is Uchiha Sasuke," Naoki finally responded.

Michiko crossed her arms over her chest. "And how old is he?"

"18 or so. A bit older than you."

"I see."

Naoki lit his cigarette. "Why do you care?"

Michiko shrugged. "Just curious."

Her brother took a long drag and blew a long trail of smoke out of his mouth. "You'll continue to watch them until I say so."

Michiko bowed her head. "Yes."

'And that means that I get to watch this Uchiha Sasuke even more…"

**A/N: As most of you may have noticed, my OC women tend to be, well, blonde. And no, they're not supposed to be a reflection of me. I have red hair. (beams) I hope no one was confused with the OC's (even though I think you shouldn't have been). **


	3. GLUTTONY

**Gluttony **

"S-S-SASUKE!" Naruto breathed hard as rested his head on his lovers' chest. "Dear god, I'm worn out! We haven't screwed that hard since the night we first did it!"

Sasuke kissed Naruto lightly on the forehead and sunk back down into the mattress. Truthfully, he was a tad relived that they were done with their love-making. He had had a strange feeling that they were being watched…watched during one of their most intimate and private moments. If someone had seen them…

Sasuke shook his head and ran his fingers lightly through the other boys' blonde hair. 'Get a grip!' He thought to himself. 'Everyone knows that we're gay and they're all fine with it!'

Naruto blinked a few times and lifted his head a few inches. "Your heartbeat sped up. Something's up, Sasuke..."

Sasuke looked down at him, trying to smile. "No, really! I'm…okay."

Naruto grinned and touched Sasuke's lips lightly. "Honey, I'm not _that _stupid. Tell me what's bothering you."

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled it away. "I'm _fine. _Really."

Naruto sighed and laid his head back down. "Okay, you win."

Sasuke continued to stroke Naruto's sunshine blonde hair. No, this definitely wasn't anything to worry about. He was probably just imagining the blur of blonde outside the window. Yeah, that was it…not something to mention to Naruto…

Sasuke waited until Naruto had fallen asleep before carefully slipping out from under him and collecting his clothes off the ground, his stomach grumbling with hunger. He frowned.

"God, I need food," he mumbled, slipping his shirt on and trying to make himself look presentable. "I'll get some ramen for the dobe and me. That'll make him happy."

Sasuke tip-toed to the bed and looked down at the peacefully sleeping boy. Somehow, he looked even more beautiful asleep than he was awake, with his eyelids lightly closed over the deep, blue pools and his breaths coming out slowly and calmly out of his slightly opened mouth. Sasuke grinned and bent down.

'And he's all _mine._'

He touched his lips to Naruto's cheek and sped out of the room.

* * *

Michiko sighed and stirred around the limp noodles in her ice cold ramen. She was supposed to be doing more "work" for the organization, but couldn't bring herself to do so; watching the two boys make love right in front of her only made her feel more lonely and jealous.

Michiko blew air out of the side of her mouth and rested her elbow on the table. 'Why am I getting so hung over this when I don't even _know _that Sasuke guy?' She lifted one of the noodles and let it fall back into the cold beef broth. 'I'm so pathetic.'

The man behind the counter passed by her and looked, with annoyance, at the nearly full bowl of ramen. "Jesus, girl, you've been nursing that thing for almost an hour!"

Michiko looked up, her cheeks flushing pink. "I-I'm sorry! I'll-I'll finish soon!"

The man snorted and turned away from her. Michiko clicked her chopsticks and looked back at her ramen.

'Just don't think about it, just don't think about it…'

"Hey, I need some ramen! No, wait, a lot of it! And quick!"

Michiko knocked over her bowl, which landed to the floor with a crash, and snapped her head to the right. She gasped. It was him, Sasuke! Michiko blushed even pinker.

'Oh man…so much for forgetting about him.'

Sasuke turned his attention away from the man behind the counter and to Michiko. He raised his brow and looked at the shattered bowl of ramen.

"I think you spilled your ramen."

Michiko's face turned an incredible shade of red. "Um…heh heh, I'm a tad clumsy."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed on her chest. Michiko's heart pounded and she felt something wet slid down into her panties.

'He's-he's looking at my breasts!' She thought excitedly, sucking in her chest. 'That's good…right?'

Sasuke pointed. "That cross…are you part of some cult or something?"

Michiko's heart plummeted and her fingers found their way to the golden necklace hanging around her neck. 'He's…talking about my cross…'

She quickly tried to stuff it into her shirt. "Um-um, it's nothing-"

Sasuke smirked. "What, are you ashamed or something?"

"N-no-" Michiko stuttered, knowing that she was probably sounding extremely stupid.

"Then why are you hiding your necklace?"

"I…I don't know," Michiko finished lamely, hanging her head. She had just made a total fool of herself in front of the guy who she was _very _attracted to.

Sasuke continued to smile and took a seat next to Michiko, who felt as though her heart was about to rip out of her chest. "If you don't mind me asking, since you're a part of some religious group, aren't you not allowed to…you know…" He lowered his voice. "Screw around?"

Michiko looked shocked. "Of-of course we are! We-we just have to wait until we're married!"

Sasuke chuckled. "God, that sucks."

Michiko frowned. "I'm perfectly fine with keeping my chastity until marriage, thank you very much."

'Unless you'd like to take me back to your place, tie me to your bed, and have sex with me right now, making all my erotic virgin fantasies come true,' she thought hopefully.

Sasuke shook his head. "Hmph, whatever, Goody-Goody." He tapped his fingers on the counter. "God, where's my fucking ramen?" He said loudly.

Michiko twiddled with her fingers. 'He has quite a mouth,' she thought.

The chef handed Sasuke no less than twelve covered Styrofoam bowls of ramen. "Here you go, boy, the usual."

Sasuke clicked his tongue and handed him a wad of cash. "Christ, that dobe is gonna make me poor." He turned back to Michiko.

"Guess I'll see ya around, err-"

"Michiko," Michiko said timidly.

"Michiko…"Sasuke repeated. "Cute…well, see ya." He turned and left, trying to balance all the Styrofoam cups of ramen.

"Bye…Sasuke-san," Michiko whispered, ignoring the shouts from the chef to finish her ramen and pay up.


	4. LUST

**LUST**

"Here you go, dobe," Sasuke said, dumping the Styrofoam cups of ramen on the bedside table and causing lukewarm broth to spill on the wooden surface.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke, grinning. "You know I love you the most when you buy me ramen!"

He scooped up one of the cups, popped off the lid, and immediately began slurping up the broth. Sasuke winced slightly as the soup dribbled down on the bed sheets. He really did hate slobs, but since he had to practically live with the messiest guy in the whole village, he managed to deal with it reasonably well.

Naruto pulled the ramen away from his mouth and let out a gigantic breath of contentedness. "So what took you so long? I woke up and couldn't find you! You usually come back when I'm still in bed."

Sasuke tore his eyes away from his dirtying bed sheets. "Oh…I just met someone at the ramen bar."

Naruto set the ramen down on the bedside table and looked at Sasuke. "Who?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Eh, some chick. I don't think you know her." He raised his brows. "Pretty cute, though." When he saw the look on Naruto's face, he quickly added "No, Naruto. I don't really like girls, you know that."

Naruto nodded his head half-heartedly and his shoulders drooped. "I know…but…so many girls really like you, and I sometimes worry that you might forget about me and go for them instead."

There was a short silence after his words. Sasuke sighed deeply and sat down on the edge of the bed, careful to avoid the spilled broth. "Naruto, the girls here who have puppy dog crushes on me are idiots who I would never think of going for. They don't give a shit about my personality or anything, they only care about my looks. And besides," he touched Naruto's cheek lightly, "do you really think I'd break up with you for some clumsy, ditzy chick I just met?"

This seemed to cheer Naruto up immensely and he returned to slurping down some more ramen. Sasuke looked on happily, his mind wandering off to that mornings' meeting at the ramen bar. He had never heard of any religious people living in Konoha before, so what were they doing here now? It was just odd to have people like that in a ninja village, so they had to be here for a pretty good reason…

"Hey Naruto," Sasuke said, breaking the silence. "Have you ever seen any….Christians here before?"

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed and he pulled the Styrofoam cup away from his face. "No, why?"

Sasuke bit his lower lip. "Well, that girl at the ramen bar-"

"You seem to be thinking about _that girl _an awful lot." Naruto frowned.

"Would you get over it?" Sasuke snapped. "It's just pretty damn odd to see religious chicks here when there never were here before!"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm not bothered by it, so why should you be?"

Sasuke let out a groan of frustration and rolled his eyes. "God, never mind." He turned away from Naruto. "I need a shower, excuse me."

He stormed out of the bed room and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and locking it. The two boys usually showered together, but Sasuke really needed some time to think. He threw his clothes on the tiled floor, yanked the shower faucet on, and ripped the curtains closed. He took several deeps breaths, trying to calm down. Naruto usually got him a tad pissed off, but it was still rather annoying when he did so, especially with a situation like this.

'If a Christian sect is in town, then they _really_ won't like to see two gay guys together,' Sasuke thought, running his hand through his now wet hair. 'And Naruto doesn't see how serious this is…' And once again, Sasuke couldn't help but thinking "But damn! For a church girl, that chick was _fine_!'

Sasuke had often wondered what his life would've been like if he had chosen to be straight. What would it have been like if he had dated, say, Sakura or Ino? All the other guys in the village bragged about how awesome it was to have sex with these girls…would Sasuke have enjoyed it, too?

He closed his eyes, just imagining himself in bed with a girl…not, not Sakura or Ino, but a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair and the unmistakable shine of a gold necklace hanging around her pale neck…he groaned quietly while the warm water hit his body and that familiar flame started up in the pit of his stomach…

Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he shook his head. "God no! I love Naruto!"

He hopped out of the shower, grabbed a towel, and ran out of the bathroom.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted.

No answer. Sasuke called for him again, but he got the same result.

"Not here…" Sasuke muttered.

And for once, he admit that he was happy that he was alone.

**A/N: NO! SASUKE IS NOT GONNA BE PAIRED UP WITH AN OC! IT'S SASUNARU TILL THE END!**


	5. ENVY

**A/N: Due to popular demand (!), I decided that I will indeed finish this fic. Oh, and too clear some things up, I am _Catholic_. The sole reason of this fic is to clear up religious stereotypes and to have people recognize that no matter what your belief or your sexual preference, you are still a good person. Of course, those points haven't been made just yet.**

**And also, I will try to become a bit tougher. Only a few flames ain't bad…right? **

**Envy**

That had been the first time that Sasuke actually blew up at Naruto like that. And Naruto had to admit, it scared him a little. Fights ended up in break ups, he knew that. Sakura and Lee had been the most intimate couple in the village, yet one little bump in their perfectly smooth relationship caused a break up between the two.

Naruto shuddered at the thought. He had been all alone for his entire life until Sasuke came into the picture and made him the happiest boy in the entire world. If he lost Sasuke…

Naruto sat down on a nearby bench to the side of the dirt road and sighed. He really messed up big time. Sasuke was trying to tell him something important (well, it was important to Sasuke at least) and Naruto just blew him off. Now that he thought about it, religious groups in Konoha weren't all that common. Sure, he had heard about some Shinto groups around the area, but Christian…that was definitely odd.

Naruto leaned back and rested his arms behind his head. Christianity…the only thing he knew about that religion was that the followers believed that when they died, they would go to a place called "heaven". Besides that, he knew nothing. So why was Sasuke so riled up? Did he know something about the religion that he didn't?

"Excuse me, sir?"

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by a small, high-pitched voice behind him. He snapped his head around. A little girl, no more than three or four, with dark, matted hair, a dirt covered face, and (this surprised Naruto the most) a missing right leg was standing behind the bench, holding a small tin cup. She gave him a toothless smile and his heart melted right there. Aw, how cute.

The girl held the cup out to Naruto. "Sir, do you have any change on you?"

Normally, Naruto would just ignore beggars, but this kid was pretty dang cute. He dug into his pocket and pulled out the only money he had: fifty Yen. Okay, it wasn't much, but…

Naruto put the money into the beaten tin cup. "Here you go."

The girl looked down into the cup and grinned again. She beamed at Naruto. "Thank you so much, sir!"

She took a deep breath and began hobbling away from the park bench on her left leg. Naruto stared after her for a while, smiling. Watching people like that made him feel fortunate for all he had: a healthy body, a nice home, and a boy who loved him…

The smile disappeared from Naruto's face. That is, if Sasuke did _still_ love him…if he didn't, then all the other material things he had didn't matter. The thing that meant the most to him was Sasuke. Period.

Naruto got off the park bench. "Goddamit, I'm gonna go apologize to him!"

And he ran back to Sasuke's house, a pair of eyes from a branch in a tree approximately twenty feet away following him.

Michiko sighed deeply and crossed her arms over her chest. Just watching this kid (gosh, can't remember _his_ name now) made that tiny ember of jealousy dance in her body again. When she saw that this boy and Sasuke got into a fight, a little ray of hope rose up that they might call it quits altogether. But no…here was this idiot, running back to Sasuke like some desperate puppy.

Michiko held on to the branch she was sitting on tightly. She hated that boy, she hated spying on people, and most of all…she hated how people treated her just because of her beliefs. Eventually, all her friends began to dislike her because of her "duties" for SIN (but, of course, she never divulged these duties to anyone outside the organization), people made fun of her for being "too damn prude" (I mean, come on, what's wrong with waiting?), and, even though this was extremely shallow, she didn't have time to focus all that much on her looks like a normal teenage girl. Her hair was plain and boring, her clothes were "last season", her nails had dirt underneath them, and her figure was no where near that of a sandglass. A flat, Plain Jane church girl. Oh goody.

_"Don't worry", _her brother had told her the night before after she confessed that she had some feelings toward the object in their mission (surprisingly, Naoki wasn't at all angry). _"I'll make sure that something…good will happen. Just as long as you do as you're told, you'll get what you want."_

Michiko had no idea what her brother had meant by this, but she had faith in him. After all, he was the only family she had and she loved him more than anything.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto were back to normal. Naruto apologized profusely and gave Sasuke his favorite treat: a nice, long backrub. The subject about the religious groups wasn't brought up again that entire week, and their relationship seemed as healthy as it always was.

One day, Naruto brought Sasuke to the park bench where he had met the little beggar girl. As they were sharing a passionate kiss, the little girl unexpectedly showed up again, showing off her toothless grin and waving the tin cup in their faces.

"It's alright, Sasuke," Naruto chuckled as he dug into his pocket for some money. "She's just a little kid."

Sasuke smiled too and also dug into his pocket. He had nothing…nothing except a piece of mint gum that had been in there for almost an entire month. He sighed and slowly put the gum in the pitiful tin cup. The girl looked down at the gum and glanced back at Sasuke.

"Candy?"

Sasuke hesitated and nodded. "Yeah…candy."

Naruto smirked and patted the girl on the head. "It's as sweet as you are!"

The girl giggled and a hint of pink appeared on her dirty cheeks. No doubt about it, she was a cutie. She shifted the cup into her left hand and held out her right.

"My name is Yuko. What's yours, sir and sir?"

Naruto squeezed her hand lightly. "I'm Naruto, Yuko-chan." He pointed at Sasuke. "And this is Mr. Grouch."

Sasuke scowled but Yuko shrieked with laughter and grabbed Sasuke's hand.

"Hello, Grouch-san. Thank you very much for the candy."

And so, day after day, Sasuke and Naruto returned to that same park bench, where Yuko would hobble up to them on her good leg and offer her tin cup (Sasuke made sure to bring more than month-old gum). Once in a while, they'd even buy an ice cream cone and bring it to Yuko, who slurped it happily and graciously thanked the two boys.

After a week of seeing Yuko at that same park bench, Sasuke and Naruto returned to it once again, but when Yuko showed up, she seemed troubled and didn't enjoy her pocky as much as they expected her to.

Naruto touched Yuko's shoulder lightly as she plopped down next to him. "Yuko-chan, what's wrong?"

Yuko twiddled with her fingers and didn't answer. She looked up at the baby blue sky, her eyes strangely glazed. Without saying goodbye, she jumped off the bench and hopped away as quick as her good leg allowed. Naruto raised his brow but Sasuke simply shrugged.

The next day, the two boys showed up at the bench as usual. Ten minutes passed…twenty…then half an hour…and still no Yuko.

Naruto looked around anxiously. "Wh-where is Yuko-chan?"

Sasuke shook his head. Though he didn't want to admit it, he was a bit worried as well. He stood up off the bench and turned to Naruto.

"Let's look around the area. Maybe we'll find her."

And so Naruto went off in one direction and Sasuke the other. Behind trees, behind garbage cans, under bridges…Yuko was no where to be seen…that is, until Sasuke came to the edge of the forest.

It was the smell that reached Sasuke first. There was no doubt about it…blood. Fresh blood. Sasuke's body stiffend and his heart hammered.

Oh…my…god…

He ran into the forest and after only a few seconds he found what they were looking for. There was the young girl who called herself Yuko on the ground, her blood staining the grass underneath her body. Sasuke breathed deeply and slowly turned her over. More blood splashed down onto the ground and onto Sasuke's arm and the stench was overwhelming. Sasuke covered his mouth and suppressed a yell. Yuko's eyes were wide open and were staring at the trees above. Her neck was sliced down the middle and her stomach was ripped open. The contents looked like huge worms in a deep, crimson pool. And, though this didn't matter much anymore since the girl was dead, her left leg was gone, leaving her completely unable to walk.

The thing that shocked Sasuke the most wasn't the violent death of Yuko…but the small piece of paper on her lower stomach that had only three letters written in deep red on it:

S…I…N…

Sasuke back off slowly, and then stood up and ran, tears flowing down his face and his stomach churning. Who…who could've done this?

Approximately fifteen feet from where Sasuke found Yuko, a girl was standing behind a large tree, her body shivering, her eyes brimmed with tears, and a bloody knife held loosely in her shaking hands.

Michiko covered her mouth and closed her eyes, letting the tears fall freely. Oh… my… god…

Oh my god, I killed someone.


	6. ANGER

**Anger**

The sun glared down from the baby-blue sky and a gentle breeze played through the air as the boys somberly buried the mangled body of Yuko. Why was the sun shining, the atmosphere so happy, when an innocent girl just lost her life? God, it was almost as though the weather was mocking them.

Naruto patted the mound of dirt under which Yuko was buried and sniffled quietly. "It's okay, Yuko-chan. You won't have to see any more of this fucked up world. You're where you belong…wherever that is."

Sasuke stood next to Naruto, his eyes completely dry. Now was not the time to cry; now was the time to think. They were in serious trouble here. Someone was watching them with a bloodlust. Someone wanted them dead.

'Sin…'

The three scarlet letters flashed through Sasuke's mind. Sin…what was it supposed to mean? He knew the Seven Deadly Sins: pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth. But what did that have to do with killing Yuko? What did some part of some religion have to-

'Oh…my…god…'

It was although a light had gone off in Sasuke's head. The girl at the ramen bar, the gold necklace, SIN…

Some religious group was out to get them. And they could even be there at that exact moment.

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered, his body tensing up and his mind racing. "We have to go. Now."

Naruto looked back at Sasuke and slowly got up off the ground. "Sasuke, what-"

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm and began running away from Yuko's grave. "Naruto, we need to go somewhere safe and stay there."

Naruto didn't struggle and allowed Sasuke to drag him back to his house faster than he would've liked. Sasuke pulled Naruto through the door, slammed the door shut, and leaned against it panting. Naruto shook him off and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Sasuke, you have some explaining to do."

Sasuke took several deep breaths. "Naruto…someone is out to kill us."

Naruto cocked his head and unfolded his arms. "What the hell do you mean?"

Sasuke waited a moment before he continued. "Remember how I told you that girl at the ramen bar was part of some Christian group here in Konoha?" Naruto nodded and Sasuke went on. "When I found Yuko's body, there was a piece of paper next to it."

Naruto squinted. "Paper?"

"The paper had three letters: S, I, and N."

"Sin," Naruto said quietly. "But what does that have to do with Yuko and us?"

"Naruto, have you heard of the Seven Deadly Sins?"

Naruto shook his head. "Never heard of them, no."

Sasuke licked his lips. "Apparently, if you commit any of those sins, your spirit won't get into heaven."

Naruto thought for a moment. "Heaven…like that place where all those Christians think they will go?"

"Yes."

Naruto blinked a few times and slid down on the floor. "You're right," he whispered. "It all fits."

Sasuke nodded. "That's why I was freaking out so much about this before."

Naruto shook his head, not wanting to believe that his and his lover's life was in danger. The village had nothing wrong with their relationship before but…why now? What was wrong with loving who you wanted to love? Was it so much to ask to be able to be in an intimate relationship with someone, regardless of sex, race, or religion?

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked over at Naruto. "What?"

Naruto cleared his throat and looked at the pale ceiling. "I think…that we have the freedom to love whoever we want to love."

Sasuke smirked and touched Naruto's hand lightly. "I think so to. But there are some people out there who are just plain jacked up."

* * *

Michiko slammed the bloody knife on the wooden table and glared at her brother, tears in her eyes. "Naoki, why? Why did you make me do that?"

Naoki leaned back in his chair, twiddling with his thumbs. "What, was it really difficult to kill off a little crippled girl?"

Tears slid down his sister's face. "She didn't have to die! We could've gotten to Sasuke-san and Naruto without sacrificing more innocent lives!"

Naoki smirked. "Sasuke-san? Damn, you really want to get in his pants, don't you?" He fished a cigarette from his pocket and put it between his lips. "To answer your question, that little girl was going to die anyway. She was just dirtying the world more."

Anger burst into Michiko's body and she slammed his fists on the table next to the tainted knife. "What the hell is your problem!" She screamed. "Why do you take peoples' lives so lightly, you sick bastard!"

Naoki frowned and raised his hand. A loud, crisp smacking sound rung in the room as he struck his sister across the face. Michiko blinked, stunned, and gingerly touched her stinging cheek, fresh tears welling up in her eyes.

"You will _never _speak that way to me again, you nasty bitch!" Naoki roared. "I'm doing this for _you _and your _nasty, sick hormones, _so don't you go and call me such names when I'm doing you a favor!"

He breathed deeply and relaxed back in his chair while Michiko stared down at the floor in shame, doing her best not to burst out crying. She had never seen her brother so angry and he had never slapped her before. When they were little, he protected her from bullies and kept her safe from harm. Yet now, he just hit her and called her a bitch. He was changing…for the worse.

Naoki broke the awkward silence. "Tonight."

Michiko looked up from the floor. "Huh?"

Naoki took out his lighter and lit his cigarette. "Tonight we'll tear those two boys apart and your 'Sasuke-san' will be yours. That little blonde bastard will be out of the picture for good."

Michiko hiccupped. "How?"

Naoki blew out some smoke from the side of his mouth. "I have an offer for them they can't refuse. They will have to choose between breaking up…or dying and going to hell."


	7. AGONY

**AGONY**

The rain pitter-pattered on the empty streets of Konoha. Cold wind blew past the windows and trees, cutting through everything in its' path like a knife. Thunder rolled in the distance, soon to be followed by a flash of lightning. It was almost like in a movie scene: the atmosphere gave the boys a sense of foreboding, as if something was bound to happen.

Naruto ran his finger along the edge of the chilled window. "Sasuke, if you had to choose between having to stop loving someone or death, what would be your decision?"

Sasuke set down the newspaper he was reading and glanced at Naruto. He looked so sad, so lonely sitting there by the window, gazing at the downpour outside.

"I'd choose death," Sasuke said without hesitation.

Naruto smiled sadly. "What about Itachi?"

Sasuke considered for a moment. That was a good question. Wasn't his life's goal to kill his brother and avenge the clan? Since when did he stop caring about that? Since when would he rather die before achieving his goal?

'Since you started loving Naruto,' he thought, answering his question.

Naruto laughed quietly. "Haha, got you there."

Sasuke shook his head and grinned. "Well, let's hope that neither of us will be faced with that decision."

The two remained silent, listening to the rhythmic rainfall outside. Sasuke stared down at the white carpet between his feet, still contemplating what Naruto had said. Until he had felt love, all he had wanted to do was kill Itachi; it was the obsession that fueled his reason for living…but now…

"Does love make you weak?"

Sasuke continued to stare at the floor. "What do you mean, Naruto?"

Naruto rested his chin on his palm. "Well…since we started going out and stuff, we sorta stopped caring about our strength, ya know?"

Sasuke tore his gaze away from the carpet and looked back at the blonde boy. "You can still be strong and love someone at the same time."

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know…I'm just so confused lately." He locked eyes with Sasuke. "Why do people not want us to be together? Do they really want to go as far as killing people?" He sniffled. "Goddamn…if I ever find these SIN people, I'll rip them apart for killing Yuko."

Sasuke nodded. "I agree." He crossed his arms tightly over his chest and sighed. "We just have to be careful and control out emotions. SIN doesn't seem like they'd be pushovers."

Naruto bit his lower lip. "You know how you told me about that girl at the ramen bar?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Why are you bringing this up again-"

The other boy interrupted him. "Do you think she killed Yuko?"

Sasuke had to stifle back a laugh. "Ha, that chick? She's a prude little daddy's girl who probably wouldn't even think of harming an amoeba."

"You never know."

Sasuke leaned back in the couch. "I guess." He breathed deeply. "But really, I can't see that girl doing anything "un-holy"."

* * *

The nervous girl pulled on the loose-fitting black t-shirt over the head and examined herself in the mirror. Tonight was the night. Tonight was the night that they were going to break two innocent lovers apart. One part of Michiko didn't want to take part in this cruel act...but another part of her liked the idea of getting Sasuke to herself.

Michiko twisted her body around, getting a good look at her back, and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Out in public, she usually put on an angelic face and always smiled, not showing what really was inside of her. But once in a while, her inner demon, her lusty, passionate self liked to take over.

_"Sometimes," her mother once told her, "the devil inside of you likes to take control and start pulling the strings of her little puppet."_

Michiko smiled. "My goodness, mother, I always thought you were on something. But for once you were right."

She turned around and faced the mirror again. She gingerly wrapped her index finger around the chain of her necklace that was always hanging around her neck. Ever since she came into this world and received the name "Michiko" sixteen years ago, she always had the necklace on. It was the equivalent of one of those tacky chastity rings that her friends back home were into. Her mother insisted that her daughter wear a piece of jewelry that guaranteed her cleanliness until marriage and at the same time showed her religion. The result, of course, was the necklace.

_"Make sure, musume-chan," _her mother whispered in Michiko's ear before she left for Konoha. _"Always wear that necklace. Always remember your promise to God."_

Michiko bit her lip as she reached around her neck and unclasped the golden chain. She slowly set it on the dresser in front of her, already feeling awkward not wearing it. Before leaving the room, she gazed once more at her naked neck in the mirror.

"Sorry, mother," she whimpered. "I don't know if I can still keep that promise."

And without the promise the necklace had held, the demon broke free.

* * *

The rain fell even harder outside of Sasuke's living room. Naruto was still sitting by the window, rocking back and forth anxiously, and Sasuke was sitting on the stiff couch, his chin sitting in his upturned palms. The feeling of uncertainty was almost suffocating in the small room. Something was going to happen, that was inevitable.

Sasuke shifted his tired eyes to the digital clock on the VCR. 12:08. They had been sitting there for two hours.

"Naruto, it's late-"

Naruto shook his head. "I don't care."

Sasuke sighed and leaned back in the couch, scratching his hair into a mess. "You feel it too, huh?"

Naruto nodded. "Something's going to happen. It's just a gut feeling."

Sasuke stood up off the couch and wrapped his arms around the other's shoulders. "No matter what, we're still going to be together, okay?"

Naruto squinted. "I want to believe that."

Sasuke loosened his grip around his shoulders. "What do you mean?"

Naruto closed his eyes. "Someone is coming."

Sasuke grit his teeth and took his arms completely away from him. "Naruto, I know we're in danger, but you could stop being so goddamn paranoid-"

His words were cut short by three loud knocks echoing throughout the house. Sasuke's heart found its way to his throat. Oh god…

Naruto turned to him. "Told ya."

Sasuke was surprised to find that he himself was trembling madly. "Wh-what should we do?"

Naruto shrugged. "Answer it, I guess. Who knows, it might be something good."

Sasuke hesitantly left the room and forced his feet to carry him to the front door. He could've sworn that his heartbeat was so loud that the people outside could probably hear the nervous _thump-thump_. His shaking hand clasped the doorknob and he pulled the door open. Cold wind and rain blew into the house.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I presume?"

Three lone figures were standing on his porch step, all dressed in black and soaked to the bone from the downpour. The one who had addressed him was a tall man no more than three or four years older than himself, the stench of cigarette smoke reaching his nostrils even with all the wetness. There was a second man, slightly shorter than the first, with a thick blanket of stubble under his chin and dark brown hair reaching down to his shoulder. And the last figure, a teenage girl, had limp blonde hair and the unmistakable innocent face…

Sasuke gulped and pointed at Michiko. "You!" He pointed his finger at her. "What the hell is going on here?"

The man in front, the one who reeked of tobacco, stepped forward. "Don't talk that way to my sister, trash!"

Sasuke was still staring at Michiko, his teeth bared. "What's going on? Who are you, really?"

Michiko smiled sadly. "Still Michiko, Sasuke-san."

The shorter man scoffed. "Such honor towards such an unworthy being."

"Don't be such an ass, Shinji," the man in front chuckled. "It's just unrequited lust."

The girl's pink face was visible in the dark. "Naoki, please…"

The one known as Naoki sighed. "Yes, yes. I know you're anxious. So…" He took another step into the light and Sasuke could get a clear view of the man's grin and his dark, malicious eyes. "We've been watching you and your disgusting little acts of blasphemy."

Sasuke crossed his arms. "That's pretty damn sick."

"Like you should be talking," the one who was labeled as Shinji remarked.

Naoki laughed. "No kidding. So where's your little boyfriend, huh? We need a few words with each of you."

"I'm right here."

Sasuke felt a hand grasp his shoulder and suddenly Naruto was standing right next to him. He turned to Naruto, his heart pumping ever louder.

"Naruto, go! Now!"

Naoki shook his head. "Neither of you are going anywhere until we rid the world of your abnormal and not to mention sickening relationship."

Naruto's eyes turned to slits. "You're SIN, aren't you?"

Naoki's lips formed into a tight grin. "Correct. SIN has been around for nearly a hundred years, doing the task of the Lord's soldiers and cleaning up this tainted world. My gift from my grandfather before he perished was the inheritance of this organization." He ran his fingers through his wet hair, still smiling. "Ah, he was too soft. Good thing SIN has a much better leader now."

Naruto's body shook with anger. "YOU KILLED AN INNOCENT LITTLE GIRL, BASTARD!"

The grin slid off the man's face. "Me? Oh no! The one who killed that little cripple was my dear little sister."

Sasuke's jaw dropped as he glanced at Michiko, who kept her eyes glued to the cement. "Wh-why?" Anger built up inside his body. "Why did you kill her?"

Naruto yelled and leaped forward. "What is your problem, you goddamn bitch! How could you do this!"

A split second later, Naruto was held off the ground by his collar, a knife in Naoki's hand pointed at his throat. Sasuke remained frozen, but his heart kept hammering. He was going to kill Naruto…that bastard was going to kill Naruto!

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK LIKE THAT TO HER!" Naoki roared. "TRASH LIKE YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN BE LOOKING AT MICHIKO!"

Michiko trembled. The demon that had broken loose inside of her was starting to whimper and back off. She didn't want to even be there anymore, having to endure the speechless stares her 'Sasuke-san' was giving her.

Naoki glared at Sasuke. "If you don't break up with this little ass-wipe, I will kill both of you!"

Sasuke regained his voice. "You're shitting me," his voice trembled.

Naoki held the knife closer to Naruto's neck. "Break up with him and…" He glanced back at his sister. "And be my sister's man."

Sasuke's lower lip shook slightly, fear finally engulfing him. Dear god, what was he supposed to do? He looked from the shivering Naruto to Michiko, who faced the ground with her eyes closed. He might've imagined having sex with her, but she could never replace Naruto. Besides, she was a murderer.

But…he couldn't be responsible for Naruto's death. That would be hell.

"Sasuke," Naruto gasped for breath. "Just do it."

Sasuke spun around and looked at the other boy. "Naruto…"

Naruto smiled weakly. "I don't want you to die for me. Just do it."

Sasuke felt his eyes water. Naruto felt the same: he didn't want Sasuke to die. But…he knew he couldn't live without Naruto. And yet…he was right. This way, he would save both their lives.

Sasuke took a long shuddering breath. "Alright. I'll-I'll stop seeing Naruto and…I'll be with her from now on."

Naoki dropped Naruto to the floor, a look of triumph on his face. "Good choice, Uchiha, good choice." He turned to the other two. "Our work here is done. Let's move out. And don't forget, Uchiha," he gestured to his sister. "You're to see her or the deal is over."

Naoki walked off the porch step, followed closely by Shinji. Michiko stared at Sasuke and Naruto, her lip twitching.

"I…I'm sorry."

Before either of them could respond, she hopped off the porch steps and followed her brother into the dark.

Silence hung over the two boys, the rain and wind still blowing in through the open door. Finally, Naruto stepped outside, not daring to look at his now ex-lover.

"I guess this is goodbye."

Sasuke held out his hand to stop him. "Wait, Naruto-"

But too late. Naruto was already running away from him, tears mixing in with the rain. Sasuke stared after him before slowly shutting the front door.

The rain continued to fall all night.

**A/N: "**_Musume-chan" _means "daughter" in Japanese. It's good to have a mother who speaks Japanese in my family.


	8. UNREQUITED LOVE

**A/N: As many people noticed, I did stop using the Seven Deadly Sins as chapter titles. I couldn't figure out a chapter that would relate to "Sloth". Yeah, I'm totally lame. **

**UNREQUITED LOVE **

The two sat across from each other at the small, elegantly set table, not daring to look at one another in the eye. One was nervous. The other, annoyed. The only words that had been exchanged between them were a quiet "Hello, Sasuke-san" and a gruff "Hi". They knew practically nothing about each other, yet here they were on a supposedly "romantic" date.

Michiko shifted in her chair uncomfortably and tugged at the bottom of her light blue skirt. "Um…so…"

Damn, there was so much she wanted to say to Sasuke: how sorry she was for ruining his relationship with Naruto, how she thought that they could possibly learn to get along, how everything would turn out alright in the end…

Sasuke leaned back in his chair and swept up the glass of wine in front of him. "Not much of a talker, huh?"

The girl's palms began to sweat. "I-I guess not."

Sasuke took a long sip of wine and set down the glass. "Fuck, I almost couldn't believe that you killed a little girl." He smirked. "But then I saw your bastard brother."

Michiko stared down at the white table cloth. "He's really a good person, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke shrugged. "Guess you know him better than me."

More silence. Michiko bit her lip, debating whether to ask the question that was itching at her mind. Well, guess she wouldn't know unless she asked…

"Sasuke-san…you don't like me, huh?"

Sasuke raised his brow. "What?"

Michiko flushed. "You don't like me, do you?"

Sasuke set his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands. "Michiko-"

The girl was taken aback. "You-you said my name!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yes, I said your name; let's have this big, orgasmic celebration in honor of this new achievement." Michiko averted her eyes to the ground in shame as he continued. "Look, _Michiko_, I won't lie to you: I think you're cute. But…" Sasuke sighed. "I loved Naruto. I _still_ love Naruto. I don't have any feelings for you."

Michiko tugged at her blonde bangs. "But…you could develop feelings for me, right?"

Sasuke scratched his chin. "It's possible."

Michiko smiled, even though she knew that the chance of Sasuke falling for her was about 1 percent. But hey, it was better than nothing.

Sasuke leaned forward and squinted. "So I notice you took off your necklace thing."

Michiko touched her bare neck with surprise, but calmed down once she remembered the night before. "Yeah, I did."

"So does that mean…" Sasuke winked. "You wanna fuck?"

Michiko nearly knocked over her glass of water and gasped. "E-Excuse me?"

Sasuke laughed and slammed his fist on the table. "Hey, hey, calm down, Virgin Mary! I just thought that you might've given up on the whole religious thing and were ready to get laid."

Michiko relaxed and giggled. "Heh heh, th-that's cute."

'Crap, he was just kidding,' she thought in disappointment.

Sasuke lifted his wine glass. "I suppose we could get along. But…" He raised his index finger. "I'm still in love with a certain blonde Dobe."

Michiko grinned innocently. "Yes, I know."

Right at that moment, she swore to herself to do anything to get Sasuke to love her. If it had to come down to dressing like a slutty pop-star, taking up drinking or learning how to talk dirty, she'd learn how to do it. But of course, she'd definitely need some expert advice on how to shed off her goody-goody mask and let her "demonic side" out…

"Hey, Sasuke-san?"

"Yeah?"

Michiko flipped back her hair over her shoulder (which really was an annoying habit of hers; Naoki even threatened to chop off her hair if she wouldn't quit messing with it). "Would you mind teaching me how to be…you know…more wild?"

Sasuke crossed his arms, his interest rising for the first time that evening. "Wild? I don't think I'm really the right person to teach you."

"I think you are!" Michiko replied eagerly. "I mean, you seem to speak your mind and you-you don't mind showing your true feelings even if it's towards a guy and-"

"Michiko," Sasuke said exasperatedly. "That's not 'wild'. That's called living life."

"…Oh."

Sasuke reached over and tussled the hair on top of her head. "You don't live enough. To be frank…you act like an old lady." When he saw the rather hurt expression on the girl's face, he added, "But it's kinda charming in a way, too."

"Mmm…"

"That's what Naruto was like," Sasuke said. "He never held back what he was feeling and he just had this…passion for life that was so goddamn contagious."

Michiko looked away. 'And yet Naruto pops up in the conversation again.'

Sasuke stared at her and couldn't help but smile. Her shyness and nervousness was absolutely adorable and it was a nice break from all the dirty things he was surrounded by before. But still…she wasn't _sexy_.

He lightly laid his rough, calloused hand on top of Michiko's pale, smooth one, causing her to blush again. "I know this is a pretty lame-ass date so far, so how about I take you somewhere more interesting?"

Michiko cocked her head. "But I might get in trouble."

Sasuke shook his head and clicked his tongue. "I thought someone wanted to become _wilder_."

Michiko looked down at her watch and grimaced. It was way past the time for her to be back from the date and Naoki would surely scold her for disobeying him. Yet there was the prospect of being alone with Sasuke…

She sighed and hesitantly nodded. "I guess…but only for a little while."

"Good."

Sasuke stood up from his chair and gestured to Michiko to follow him away from the table. Michiko stared at him in horror.

"S-Sasuke-san! The check!"

He grabbed her by the arm and muttered in her ear, "Wild, Michiko. Think wild."

* * *

The blonde boy shivered slightly as he looked up at the velvety blue night sky above him. He had been sitting in 'their spot' for almost the entire day, having feeble hopes that Sasuke might remember this certain place and come back to him. Of course, that wasn't going to happen; he had a "girlfriend" now.

Naruto gazed down at his blood-soaked wrist and winced. It had been quite a while since he had stooped down to the lowly activity of cutting (no need to say who had stopped him from doing so earlier), but now it gave him a sort of satisfaction. Maybe someone else would finally stop looking away and start caring.

Naruto ran his finger down the longest cut, which reached up the whole length of his wrist. He knew he shouldn't have been kidding himself; no one would accept him into their heart. He was, after all, one of the most despised people in the entire village. Damn, life sucked that way: not being able to control what you were destined to be.

_'Naruto, I'll always accept you for who you are.'_

Naruto smiled as those words rung in his head. Sasuke had said that to him in this exact spot. This was also the same place where they had first hugged, kissed and held hands, all which occurred under the same blue sky as well. Well, that was all in the past: nothing more was going to happen here, except maybe for a suicide.

Naruto lifted his head and pulled himself closer together as he heard a loud giggle, his muscles stiffening and his heart racing. Voices…oh god, someone was coming. He squinted into the darkness, trying to see who was coming to defile his sacred spot…

"-So when I was ten, Naoki put my kitty in the blender," said a sweet-sounding girl's voice.

Naruto's heart dropped to his feet when he heard the second, all too familiar voice.

"Heh, charming…"

The owners of the two voices stepped into the clearing, their hands latched together lightly, and not seeming to have noticed Naruto yet.

"Yeah, Naoki was kinda mean back then," Michiko blabbed on.

"Heh…"

Naruto frowned and cleared his throat. "Ahem…"

The two stopped and looked at the ground where the boy was sitting. All the color left Sasuke's face and Michiko gasped.

Naruto eyed their clasped hands. "Looks like you two are having a great time," he muttered, wishing he had his kunai with him so he could rip out that stupid girl's throat.

Michiko looked nervously at Sasuke, expecting him to let go of her hand and run to Naruto, begging him to be his again. But just the opposite happened: Sasuke clenched her hand even tighter and stared stone-faced at Naruto. When neither of them said anything and kept staring at each other, she decided to speak.

"N-Naruto…"

Naruto glared at her. "Don't talk to me!" He snapped.

Michiko slumped down and tried to break off Sasuke's grip in order to make Naruto happier, though she didn't want to let go for even a second. Apparently, Sasuke didn't want to let go either. He squeezed her hand even harder and stared at the ground.

Naruto gritted his teeth and stood up. "Fine, Sasuke!" He yelled. "Just forget all about me and screw that-that whore!"

He shot Michiko one last dirty look and stomped off, angry tears pouring down his cheeks. Michiko glanced at Sasuke and sighed.

"Uh..."

Sasuke stared after Naruto and finally let go of her hand. "Sorry, Michiko," he mumbled. "But I think it's time I take you home."


	9. HOT BLOOD

**A/N: As Bookworm has pointed out, it's about time to redeem this fic. It might take a few chapters to do so, but I'll try my best!**

**And if people are still convinced that I'm being prejudiced here, I'll give you an example of the reasoning some of you are using (it's called 'inductive reasoning', by the way): Since Hitler was bad, all Germans are bad. See what I mean? Just because in this fic there is a small group of bad Christians doesn't mean I think that all Christians are bad, alright? Phew!**

**HOT BLOOD**

The wind whispered through the deserted streets of Konoha, lightly breathing on the couple as they made there way back to Michiko's house. Their hands were now separated and once again silence hung over them like a thick veil.

Michiko felt her eyes sting as the words replayed over and over in her head. _'Just forget all about me and screw that whore!'_. She was used to being called names, but it hurt to be yelled at by the person with whom she wanted to be on equal grounds. If the three of them could just get along…

'But I wouldn't like it either if someone took my boyfriend,' she thought, quickly wiping her eyes.

"You're thinking about what Naruto said, huh?" Sasuke asked huskily, jamming his hands into his pockets.

Michiko crossed her arms and slowly nodded. "I just…don't want him to be mad at me."

"No offense, woman, but I don't think he'll ever warm up to you," Sasuke replied lightly.

She sighed and looked at the dirt ground between her feet. "You're right."

Sasuke stopped and turned to her. "You've really turned our lives upside-down. If you hadn't come here at all…"

Michiko stared at him with watering eyes. "Wh-what, so you think I should be dead?" She cried hysterically. "Why don't I just go kill myself-"

Sasuke stopped her with a glare. "I never said that," he said quietly. "So just stop with the self-pity and-"

The girl turned away from him, her body shaking. "Sasuke-san, please just go away and stop being such an asshole!"

Before she could run off, Sasuke grabbed her upper arm, his nails digging into her pale skin. He turned her around and snatched her other shoulder so that they were facing each other. Michiko whimpered quietly; they were so close together that she could feel his drumming heartbeat.

"If I were to let you get hurt," Sasuke seethed, his grip on her arms tightening. "That bastard brother of yours would do something to Naruto. I won't allow that." He let go of one of Michiko's arms but still held on to the other. "Come on, I've wasted enough time this evening already."

"We go to the left at this next corner," Michiko said, her throat dry and fear elevating in her body.

Sasuke nodded curtly and followed her directions, dragging the quiet girl down the road. Michiko let Sasuke lead her without struggle, wishing for the first time that evening for the so-called "date" to be over.

'His attitude sure has changed since that little run-in with Naruto,' she thought as they were approaching the bench by the brick wall.

"Y-you can stop right here," she said in a squeaky voice.

Sasuke glanced at her with furrowed brows. "You live on a bench?"

Michiko started to squirm as crimson tears of blood flowed down her arm from Sasuke's grip. "This is where my brother will pick me up."

Sasuke waited for a moment, shrugged, and released her so quickly that she fell on the ground. "Suit yourself."

Once he started to walk away, Michiko slowly lifted herself from the dirt and sat down on the bench, rubbing her aching arm.

"I better hide this from Naoki," she whispered, watching a drop of blood fall onto her bare leg. "I can't get Sasuke-san in trouble…"

She jumped as Sasuke's voice resonated around the area:

"Come back here tomorrow. I'll take you on another date."

It was a moment before she found her own voice. "Alright."

Sasuke smiled to himself as he continued walking. This girl…he couldn't have asked for a better choice.

'SIN would be pretty damn pissed if I broke you, Michiko. But I'm not just going to do that, oh no…_I'm going to shatter you to pieces_.'

* * *

Naruto finished bandaging up his wrists and looked back at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. A blonde-haired young man glared back at him, his aquamarine eyes filled with a raging fire and his mouth formed into a deep scowl.

"How could I let myself become so weak?" He asked his reflection. "What the fuck is my problem?" He raised his bound-up wrist. "Is this what I suffered years of loneliness and rejection for, to be a weak little prick just because of some fucked-up organization with primitive beliefs!"

He slammed his wrists on the counter, causing a river of blood to flow onto the tiled surface and into the white porcelain sink. Like Sasuke, his emotions had taken quite a turn-around. Realization had hit him: it was time to stop crying and begin thinking of revenge.

"To hell with SIN and that church-girl bitch. They're gonna get the ass-whooping of their lives."

An evil, almost scary smile crossed his lips before he exited the bathroom to begin preparations. The river of hot blood flowed into the drain, mixing into the water that supplied the entire village.

* * *

Once inside the apartment, Michiko hurried to her room, pulled open a dresser drawer, and wrapped an old sock around the punctures on her arms from Sasuke's nails. With that done, she took a deep, shuddering breath and slowly laid down on the stiff mattress of the bed.

"Oh god I hate blood," she choked, feeling her stomach start to churn.

She had had the same feeling after she murdered Yuko, only after that incident she was sick for three whole days. The bitter smell, the metallic taste, the deep red color…

Michiko groaned and held her hand up to her mouth, the familiar taste of stomach acid filling her mouth. She grabbed the pillow underneath her head and pressed it against her face. The only thing that she hated more than blood was vomit.

Once her breathing and her stomach had calmed down, she removed the pillow from her face and stared at the white ceiling above her. She hated it there, in an unfamiliar bedroom in an unfamiliar apartment in an unfamiliar village where the people despised her and the man she loved caused her to bleed. What she would give to go back home…

Michiko looked down at the blood soaked sock tied around her arm. "Why is God punishing me?"


	10. DEVIL'S KISS

**DEVIL'S KISS**

Sasuke combed his fingers lightly through his wind-tussled hair and looked towards the setting sun. He had retraced his steps from last night and was waiting on the bench that Michiko had directed him to. He had forced himself to bring a small bundle of flowers, but that was only so that he could butter up the girl faster and pounce on his prey when the right time came.

'She'll come,' he thought, unperturbed at the fact that he had been waiting there for forty-five minutes already. 'Even though last night had a rough ending, she's under my spell. I can start pulling the strings on my little puppet soon…'

He stood up as soon as he could see the awaited girl head down the street and towards him. He suppressed a smirk when he saw Michiko's outfit: an impossibly tiny black miniskirt with a matching, low neckline tank top. It was a nice change from the librarian outfit she had worn last night.

Sasuke slapped the flowers into her hands and raised his brow. "I see you dressed up."

Michiko glanced down at the wilted daisies in shock. "And…you brought me flowers." She gave him a quizzical look. "Why the sudden change in attitude?"

'So I can gain your trust easier and make my plan succeed,' Sasuke thought to himself.

He cleared his throat. "Because right now, you're the only thing I have," he said with a hint of sarcasm that fortunately went undetected.

The confused look melted off the girl's face and was immediately replaced with a smile surrounded by lightly reddened cheeks. "That's…that's so nice," she said quietly, taking a step towards Sasuke and causing their shoulders to brush.

Sasuke wrapped his arm around her waist. 'Naruto was right: I am pretty damn good at smooth-talking.' He glanced down at her arm. "There's a sock…on your arm…"

Michiko laughed nervously. "Eh…you have some pretty sharp nails."

He pulled her closer against his own body. "Maybe now you'll remember to listen to me."

Michiko absentmindedly pulled a petal off one of the daises. Yes, he was right. She shouldn't have let her weak emotions get the best of her. From now on, she would do anything that Sasuke told her to do. He had control over her and she didn't mind it one bit.

"Yes, Sasuke-san."

"Good."

The sun set beyond the horizon and the reds and oranges in the sky began to blend in with the oncoming midnight blue. Sasuke gripped Michiko's hip and began to lead her away from the bench. Tonight wasn't the right night to go all the way…that would scare her off. But maybe a little progress wouldn't hurt…

"Where are we going, Sasuke-san?" Michiko asked timidly as they approached the forest.

"You'll see."

"Is it somewhere in the forest?"

"You'll see," Sasuke repeated patiently. If he were to get irritated with her again tonight, then the plan would probably fall to pieces. Being nice to her and gaining her trust and respect was what he had to do in order to succeed.

Michiko huddled closer to the young man's side as they walked under the thick canopy of trees. The path ahead of them was pitch-black and the whole forest was as quiet as the grave. Sasuke continued to lead her, showing no signs of hesitation or fear.

They walked through the dark for another half hour until Sasuke stopped and slid his hand off Michiko's waist. They were in a small clearing, completely surrounded by trees on all sides. In the middle of the clearing was a small dirt mound.

"You know where I've taken you?" Sasuke asked, approaching the mound and kneeling next to it.

"Do I want to know?" Michiko asked apprehensively.

Sasuke patted the mound. "This is where Naruto and I buried Yuko." His eyes flitted back to her. "The girl you murdered."

Michiko bit her lip and slowly sunk to the ground. She was starting to feel sick to her stomach again. Why had he taken her there, of all places? Was this his idea of a romantic evening?

"I didn't know Yuko for all that long," Sasuke continued. "But it was obvious that she didn't deserve to die at such a young age." He squinted. "People shouldn't die because of things they can't control."

Michiko held her hands over her stomach. "I-I-…it wasn't my decision! Naoki made me do it!"

Sasuke stood up and turned to her, focusing his onyx eyes on her blue ones. "So you do anything that people tell you to do?"

Michiko backed away. "I…I"

Sasuke took a step towards her. "If someone told you to gauge out your eyeballs, would you do it?"

"I-"

Another step. "If someone told you to stab your brother in the back, would you do it?"

"I-"

Sasuke knelt in front of the trembling girl and touched her warm cheek. "If someone told you to kiss me," he whispered in her ear, causing shockwaves of shivers to course down her spine. "Would you do it?"

Michiko gulped and moaned quietly as Sasuke nipped her ear. She always did what people told her, but she was usually hesitant about it. But in this case…she would do it, no questions asked.

"Y-yes," she purred.

Sasuke pulled away and once again stared straight into her eyes. "Just making sure."

He touched her lips lightly with the tip of his thumb before laying his lips gently on top of hers' and pulling her into a deep kiss. It started out innocently enough until after a few moments their tongues were dancing and Sasuke had pushed the girl to the ground. He straddled her and broke away from the kiss.

"If…if someone told you to let me inside of you," he breathed on her neck. "Would you do it?"

"Yes," Michiko answered in a high-pitched voice, her body longing for exactly what he had suggested.

"Tch." Sasuke stood up and held his hand out to her. "Not tonight."

Michiko sighed in frustration but nonetheless took his hand without complaint. Before standing up, she grabbed the wilted daisies, which had fallen on the ground, and tossed them next to the makeshift grave.

"This is the best I can do for her," she said, getting up off the ground and patting off the dirt from her back.

Sasuke sneered. "Don't worry; you can redeem yourself through me."

'I've got you right where I want you, Michiko. There's no way I'm gonna let you go.'

* * *

Naruto set his hands on his hips and sighed contentedly as he looked upon all the materials necessary for his little project: kunai and shuriken, white paper, and plenty of red paint. Such simple items, but the results would be devastating.

'Well, to SIN anyways,' he thought, lifting one of the kunai and twirling it around his fingers.

Naruto looked out the window and at the moon. "Hm, waxing crescent. I'll give it a few more weeks and the plan should be ready."


	11. BROKEN

**BROKEN**

Weeks passed and it was finally the time of the new moon. Sasuke and Naruto hadn't spoken to one another since the night of the date. When they passed each other in the streets, they merely nodded to the other or just ignored him altogether. They had reached a silent agreement: Talk to me and your life is in danger.

For the third member of the situation, life couldn't have been better. Every day, Michiko would wake up excited at the prospects of seeing her (oh how she loved this word) _boyfriend_. She would be on pins and needles all day until sunset had come, and when it did she would change into an even more revealing outfit than she had worn the day before and rush out of the apartment to meet Sasuke at the park bench. Naoki was completely oblivious to the ever deepening "relationship".

It was Wednesday of that week that Sasuke decided it was time for the climax of his plan. He was ready…and it seemed that his loyal puppy was, too.

It started out like any other evening since the two had been dating: once the sun had started to sink, Sasuke started to make his way to the opposite side of the village, where Michiko was already waiting on the park bench. Once he was a few feet away, she quickly stood up and the two exchanged a brief kiss.

"You're here early," Sasuke said quietly as he ran his hand gently down her cheek and the side of her neck.

"I…couldn't wait," Michiko whispered, goose bumps erupting all long her bare neck and shoulder from Sasuke's toxic touch.

Sasuke grinned. 'Tonight it is, then.'

His hand slithered around her waist and they began walking. Michiko rested her head on his shoulder and breathed in the scent of jasmine tea on his shirt (it was a bit of a feminine smell for a guy, but he was, by the way, gay for a while).

"Where are we going tonight?"

"Somewhere."

Michiko gazed at him longingly. "The forest again? Or maybe by the river?"

"It's a place you've never been before," Sasuke said simply.

"Um…will I like this place?"

Sasuke shrugged. "It depends…" He started to stroke her lower back.

Michiko's lower region went aflame. "On what?"

Sasuke looked her in the face. "On how wet you are."

Michiko flushed. So it was true: Sasuke had talked her into allowing him to put his fingers in her intimate spots by just talking dirty for a few minutes, but it still embarrassed her to think about it. What could he possibly have meant by 'how wet you are'?

'He's going to put his fingers _up there_ again,' Michiko thought hopefully, snuggling even closer to the boy.

Sasuke rested his hand right above her buttocks as his house came into view. 'She'll be horny enough, that's for sure.' He frowned. 'It's just a matter of how dirty she wants to get.' He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small silver house key. "Okay, here we are."

Michiko blinked several times. "Where are we?"

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes and say 'Well, _duh_.' "My house."

The girl's heart sky-rocketed. "Really? You're letting me come to your house?"

Sasuke led her up the porch steps and unwound his arm around her waist as he unlocked the door. "If I didn't want you here, I'd ask you to leave."

The door swung open with a loud creaking noise and he gestured to Michiko to enter. Michiko hesitantly stepped over the threshold, followed by Sasuke, and yelped as the door slammed shut behind them. The house was dark and quiet.

Michiko moaned quietly as strong arms wrapped themselves right under her breasts. "Sasuke-san…"

Sasuke breathed lightly on the back of her neck. "No, Sasuke-_sama_."

"Sasuke…sama…"

Sasuke smiled and began ushering her up the stairs. Within seconds, they were heading down the hallway and opening the last door on the right: the bedroom.

"Go on," Sasuke urged, patting Michiko's rear-end.

Michiko gasped quietly as she stepped into the bedroom, moving her head every which way, taking in her surroundings. It was so…clean. The white bed comforter was straight and crisp on the mattress; the bare walls were bathed in the starlight from the open window, and the smell…

'It doesn't reek of sex!'

Michiko jumped slightly and the hairs on the back of her neck pricked up as Sasuke stepped up right behind her. "Tch, I washed the sheets so we don't have to do it with stains surrounding us."

Michiko's eyes widened and she turned to him. "Wh-what?"

Sasuke's upper lip curled. "Hmph."

He grabbed her arm just above the puncture wounds and pulled her to the bed. He sat down on the edge of the mattress and motioned for Michiko to sit next to him. Michiko slowly sat down, her heart thumping and her lower region howling with the flow of hormones.

'Oh my god…we're on a bed together…'

Sasuke moved his hand from her arm to the side of her cheek, trying to relax the girl and make her melt in his arms. He traced his eyes away from her face and focused them intently on the low-cut neckline of her shirt.

"You know," he whispered, his voice dripping with seduction. "I've never seen a girl's chest."

Michiko's cheeks burned. "Y-yeah, I know that."

Sasuke slowly looked back up at her face. "So how about showing me yours'?"

The girl's mouth hung open. Show him…her chest? Wasn't it too soon?

Before she could answer, Sasuke slid his hands under her shirt and pulled it over her head, leaving the girl with only a bra hiding the upper portion of her body. Michiko gasped as he quickly unclipped the bra and flung it on the floor next to her shirt. She quickly covered her chest with her arms, but Sasuke pulled them away, leaving her bare and vulnerable.

Sasuke's eyes popped out but he retained his cool demeanor. "Nice…very nice…" Without thinking, he lightly placed his hand on her left breast, feeling her heart hammering and causing her to moan sensually. He moved his face closer to her chest. "Would you mind if I…"

He buried his head in Michiko's chest and pushed her flat onto the mattress. Michiko's body burst into shivers as moans of pleasure erupted from her mouth. Oh god…this feeling was indescribable!

'Please…never let this end!'

"Mi-Michiko," Sasuke whispered, taking his mouth away from her chest and breathing on her pale skin. "Remember…when I asked you if you would let me inside of you if someone told you to do so?"

"Mmm…uh-huh."

Sasuke glided his hands down her bare stomach and rested them on the edge of her skirt. "I'm not asking you to," he seethed. "I'm _ordering_ you to."

Michiko nodded as he pulled down her skirt to the floor. "Yes…Sasuke-sama."

"Don't worry," her master said, grinning. "I won't break into you too hard."

* * *

It was the same night on the other side of the village, where the blonde-haired boy was gathering his materials and preparing to set off into the night, unbeknownst to the event that was going on in Sasuke's home right at the very moment. He didn't care though; the only thing that mattered was his plan.

Naruto tightened his headband and looked determinedly out his window at the (almost) silent village.

"It's the beginning…of the end."


	12. DAWN

**DAWN**

Like every other morning, the sun rose. Rays of its' warm light spread throughout the entire village, signaling to the world that it was time to awake from their slumber and begin a new day.

For one girl, she wished there wouldn't even be another day.

Michiko sniffled and wiped her tear-streaked face with the back of her bleeding hand. She hadn't slept the entire night, though her partner had gone to sleep right after the orgasm came and left. Sasuke had simply yawned, climbed to the other side of the bed, and said sleepily "Just stay here for the night."

Michiko looked down at the bed sheets and shuddered; they were covered in fresh blood. Making love was always portrayed as being passionate, intimate, and full of unmatched pleasure. No one had ever mentioned excruciating pain and blood.

She held her arms over her stomach and closed her eyes tightly to keep from crying again. She had held down the vomit all morning and the bitter taste of vile was filling her mouth. Blood and vomiting…and not to mention a guy who showed no consideration or sensitivity. She had told him to stop…but he kept going, digging his nails into her wounded arm and causing more blood to flow onto the already stained bed sheets.

Michiko grabbed the comforter and stuffed it between her legs; thick crimson liquid began pouring onto the cotton immediately. 'I…I just want to go home.'

Unfortunately, one of the many things that she missed out on that most teenage girls partook in were sleepovers. No one came to her house and she certainly wasn't allowed to stay a whole twenty-four hours at another's home. On top of her gurgling stomach, homesickness was hitting Michiko hard as well.

"Why are you crying?"

Michiko sniffed and looked at the lump next to her that was Sasuke, who was still lying down with his back facing her. "What?"

Sasuke remained with his face turned away from her. "Was it really _that_ bad?"

Michiko shuddered. "It's hard to believe…that I'm not a virgin anymore. I promised my mother…that I would abstain."

"What can I say?" Sasuke said gruffly. "Once you took your necklace off, you were fair game." He finally turned over on his side and faced her, brows raised. "Isn't that what you wanted, to be more _'wild'_?"

Michiko frowned at the taunt but didn't respond. Once again, he was right: she wanted to be live life more freely, and this is what she got. Even she couldn't deny that it was exciting and different.

"You know," Sasuke said, picking at his fingernail. "That was kinda like my first time, too."

"Huh?"

"Because, you know…" He shrugged. "That was my first time doing it with a girl."

"Oh…so does that mean…" Michiko bit her lip. "Were you nervous too?"

Sasuke nodded. "Well yeah. You have a very different body than Naruto." He winced and rubbed his thigh. "And you were a lot tighter, too." He saw the girl's confused expression and added, "That's a _good_ thing."

A small smile tugged at Michiko's cheeks. At least she was of some use to the man she adored.

"That was your first night away from your brother, wasn't it?"

Michiko blushed lightly. "How'd you know?"

"You were showing all the symptoms of homesickness: crying, squirming around a lot, not sleeping…" Sasuke sighed. "I used to do that a lot…after something happened a long time ago."

Michiko leaned forward and laid her hand on his. "What was it, Sasuke-sama?"

Sasuke glared at her. "It's really none of your damn business, is it?" He said coldly.

Michiko pulled her hand away, taken aback by his animosity. "I…I care about you...more than you'll ever know," she said quietly.

Sasuke looked away. "If you truly care about me, you'll let me keep my privacy."

Tears began to form in Michiko's eyes again. "S-S-Sasuke-sama, I-I would spill my heart out to you, but you won't tell me anything. It's like I hardly know you at all."

Sasuke glanced at her. "Tell you what, if you stop crying, we'll talk, okay? But you get to start."

Michiko took a heaving breath and finally plopped back down in the pillows. "Okay."

"So…your family…"

Michiko cleared her throat. "Well, there's me, Naoki, and my mother."

"What about your father?"

Michiko breathed in deeply, ashamed. "My parents were never married. After my father found out that I came out as a girl, he left." She laughed quietly. "He didn't want a daughter. He thought that women were useless except for popping out sons."

Sasuke whistled. "Wow, I thought you're family would be ultra religious."

Michiko shrugged her shoulders slightly. "Mom converted after my father left. She said she was sick of trouble…" She stopped for a second before continuing. "But then she got a boyfriend."

Sasuke scratched his head. "Neh, I've heard worse."

Michiko rested her chin on her knees. "Her boyfriend…was a bastard. He hit my mother a lot, he threw cigarette ash in Naoki's eyes, he…" She hesitated.

"He what?"

Michiko closed her eyes and grimaced. "He touched me in uncomfortable places."

Sasuke scooted closer to the girl. "Why didn't your mother do anything?"

"Because she wanted to have a happy and complete family."

"Mmm…" Sasuke stretched his arms, climbed off the bed, and wrapped one of the blood-stained sheets around his waist. "If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's that you don't need your family to be happy." He started to walk to the closed door. "You just need someone to love you."

Before he could leave the room, Michiko said "S-Sasuke-sama?"

He turned around. "Yes…Michiko?"

Michiko traced her fingers around the stitching on the comforter. "You're right: I don't need Naoki or my mother…but I do need _you_." She looked at him intently. "I love you Sasuke-sama, and all I want is for you to love me back." Her lip trembled. "Please say you love me."

Sasuke returned her stare before opening the bedroom door. "I don't know how I feel quite yet."

"B-but we…we made love just last night!" Michiko said shrilly.

Sasuke took a step outside the door. "Just because we made love doesn't mean that I love you."

With that said, he shut the door behind him, leaving a confused and heartbroken girl in his wake.

* * *

Naoki blew smoke out of his mouth and leaned back in the old wooden chair. He smoked when he was sad, lonely, or extremely angry. At that moment, he was more than extremely angry.

"Stupid little bitch didn't come home last night," he muttered, rubbing the stub of the cigarette on top of the table. "And on top of that…" He picked up the newspaper next to the small pile of ash and growled. "There's this shit going around."

There was an article on the front page: _Village in Bloodbath from SIN_. Apparently, just in the last few hours countless murders of young children and women had occurred. By each of the mangled corpses was a small piece of paper with the word 'SIN' written in red paint.

Naoki reached into his pocket and pulled out the pack of cigarettes, his eyes scanning over the article once more. "_This is obviously a corrupt and not to mention sick being doing these terrible acts,_" he read. "_No wonder the murderer left behind a piece of paper with the word 'SIN' on it. ANBU forces were dispatched to capture the culprit ASAP._" He slammed the paper down. "Little fucker…using our good name to do their dirty deeds."

He sighed as three loud knocks on the door resounded throughout the small, dark room. "What do you want, Shinji?"

The door opened and beams of light entered the room as the young man stepped inside. "Did she come back?"

Naoki rubbed his temples and sighed. "No."

Shinji shut the door behind him. "Have you read-"

Naoki gestured towards the paper. "You mean that?"

The other man walked towards the desk and rested his hands on the edge. "You think Michiko has something to do with this?"

"No, I tell her when she needs to take drastic actions."

Shinji leaned forward, teeth barred. "Then who the hell is it? If we don't find out soon, our cover will be blown-"

"I already know," Naoki said calmly, putting the cigarette between his lips and lighting it. He took a long draft and blew out a cloud of smoke in Shinji's face. "It's the Uzumaki kid."


	13. HEARTACHE

**HEARTACHE**

Sasuke took a small sip from his usual morning mug of pure black coffee and leaned back in the wooden chair, his legs still numb with pain. So he was still in a bed sheet and hadn't even showered yet; so what? If Michiko decided to finally stop sulking, come out of the bedroom, and join him at the table, she probably wouldn't mind seeing him half-naked and sweaty.

"Women," he muttered spitefully, burning his tongue on the hot coffee. "All they do is bitch, whine, and complain." He set down the mug on the table. "But goddamn are they fun to fuck, especially when they're so tantalizingly innocent and loud."

Sasuke smiled as he heard tumbling footsteps behind him and rested his elbows on the table. "Decided to come down, eh?"

Michiko's legs wobbled as she walked slowly into the kitchen, wearing a long baggy t-shirt that she had obviously found in his closet, and leaned against the nearest wall. "Y-yeah, I guess."

Sasuke peered over his shoulder and gestured to the chair next to him. "You know, if I were you I'd wanna sit down."

Michiko looked at the chair suspiciously before hobbling over to it and slumping down on the hard wooden seat. She glanced at Sasuke and cleared her throat, deciding that it was best to start a conversation after what had happened earlier that morning.

"How's your…coffee?"

"Awful," Sasuke replied lightly.

"Oh…would you like me to make you some?"

"Don't bother."

Michiko looked at him desperately. "Sasuke-sama, please, you aren't helping at all!" She lowered her head. "I want to be of use to you."

Sasuke chuckled. "Oh trust me; you've been extremely helpful to me. I mean…" He winked. "I've wanted to sleep with you for a while now."

Michiko felt as though she had been smacked across the face. "I…You mean…all you wanted to do with me was have sex? You-you didn't want to try to make this a meaningful relationship, even if it was forced?"

Sasuke looked her square in the eye with a rather amused look on his face. "Doll, sex lost it's sacredness a long time ago. It's not uncommon for two people who don't even know each other's names to do the dirty."

Michiko stared at him open-mouthed. This couldn't have been the man she practically worshipped on bended knee talking about how she had only been a thing to screw around with. It had to be a joke. He loved her…right?

She stood up from the table, her legs still shaking. "I…ummm…I'll get the newspaper."

Without looking back at Sasuke, she slowly made her way out of the kitchen, through the front door, and onto the porch, walking bowl-legged the entire way. She grimaced as she bent down and picked up the newspaper.

"Maybe sex really isn't worth the pain." She stood back up and rubbed her inner thigh. "The media really bull-shitted me good with all those romance books and dirty movies."

Michiko unrolled the newspaper and held it up to her face. She gasped and gripped the paper tightly, for the second time that morning being thrown into shock. "Oh…my god…" She glanced back at the house. "Sorry, Sasuke-sama. This is urgent."

She dropped the paper back onto the ground and ran off the porch and into town, not caring that she was still only wearing a baggy t-shirt.

* * *

Sasuke drained his cup of cold coffee and leaned back, not at all surprised that Michiko hadn't come back in after an hour of 'getting the newspaper'. "My my, she didn't even bring me the paper like a good puppy." He stood up and carelessly dropped the empty mug into the sink. "Maybe I shouldn't have been so brutally honest."

He tightened the sheet around his waist and lazily dragged his feet out the front door. He shook his head and clicked his tongue as he picked up the unfurled newspaper lying on the porch.

"She sure is misbehaving today."

Sasuke leaned against the cold wall of the front of the house as his eyes scanned over the article that had been causing waves of fear and anger across the village. He groaned and let the paper slide out of his hands.

"God, Naruto. Please say this isn't you."

Sasuke rubbed his temples and walked back into his house, knowing that trying to talk sense into Naruto would be useless.

* * *

Naruto fumed silently in the corner of his bedroom, both legs and arms crossed tightly. He couldn't believe that before he could get to work on his masterpiece of a plan, he had fallen asleep.

"Humph…all that racking my brain for nothing," he pouted. "All those all-nighters finally took their toll."

Naruto looked out through the window across the room, which didn't help his temper at all. He gritted his teeth together as Michiko ran past his house wearing one of Sasuke's shirts and nothing else. Why was she even wearing that? What had happened to all her slutty clothes?

"Yeah, hussy, you better be running," Naruto hissed under his breath. "Looks like someone else isn't too happy with your organization."

**A/N: Sorry for the short and late chapter. Certain…setbacks have kept me from being able to write a decent-length chapter. **


	14. BOND

**BOND**

Michiko gingerly rubbed her bleeding cheek, suppressing a hiss of pain that was about to explode from her mouth. It really had been a shitty and not to mention painful morning. First the there were the post-sex pains and then the confrontation with her brother…

_"You damn slut!" Naoki roared as he violently threw a small glass vase at his sister's head, causing the girl yelp in pain and sink to the floor. "You're out fucking with your nasty little gay boyfriend while the organization I worked so fucking hard for is about to fall to pieces! Get the hell outta my sight!"…_

And so, here Michiko was, lying on her stiff bed, touching the small cut on her cheek every minute or so. She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to feel the pain; she wanted to know that it was real, that everything was real. There was something morbidly delicious about that sting that coursed through her body every time her fingers touched her face.

"This feels like such a cliché," Michiko muttered, staring down at the blood on her hand even though it made her stomach churn. "A wonderful, beautiful, sweet girl gets abused by everyone around her." She sighed. "But I'm not wonderful, beautiful, or sweet. I'm just an easy lay."

The girl rolled over on her stomach and rested her chin in her palms. She didn't want to think about it, but it was almost impossible _not_ to; she, Michiko, the one everyone thought would stay pure for her whole life, had actually slept with a guy! She wasn't quite sure what to think of herself. The media portrayed being a virgin as "uncool" and "nerdy", but in the real world, any woman who had done "it" before they were married were considered whores. The fact was Michiko knew she couldn't handle the name calling or all the byproducts of sex, like…

'Like a baby…' She thought, her stomach twisting.

Michiko had been forced to attend many meetings and seminars on the dangers of pre-marital sex and why abstinence was the best choice, so she knew what could've happened if she listened to Sasuke's dirty talking and given in…but her hormones had been positively raging the night before; it was impossible to listen to the reasonable voice in her head.

'It's no ones' fault but mine.'

She buried her head in the sleeve of the over-sized t-shirt, breathing in the smell of the man she absolutely loved. It was the scent of the same cologne her brother used, Enigma. Michiko breathed deeply, taking in the comforting scent. Sasuke was like an enigma; one second he wanted to make love badly and the next he positively hated her.

Michiko's eyes widened. "Oh god…what if he doesn't want anything to do with me after last night?"

Of course, she would understand if he was just embarrassed and wanted to hide that from her, but she knew that some guys dumped a girl soon after they sleep together. Would Sasuke do that to her? Would he despise her from now on?

"What can I do to make sure he stays with me?" She whispered into the shirt sleeve.

Michiko looked out the small window to her right. There really was only one thing she could do, and she knew it. She didn't want to go through with it, but it was the only way to make Sasuke hers' forever:

She had to get Naruto in even deeper trouble for the murders.

'Not even Sasuke-sama will want a criminal for a lover…'

* * *

_A woman is most fertile around the fourteenth day of their menstrual cycle, when the egg is released and sent to the fallopian tube. The egg has about twenty-four hours to unite with the sperm. The sperm can live about two or three days, so it's best to have regular sex leading up to the days of the ovulation…_

Sasuke tossed aside the magazine and grimaced. He was sitting on the floor of his mother's bedroom, sifting through piles of women's health magazines. He was so horny the night before that he had forgotten all about the one danger of having sex with a girl:

The nasty, snotty, little brat that might pop out and be dumped on him for eighteen long years.

Sasuke looked up at the ceiling, his heart beating fast. How could he have been so stupid as to forget about birth control? He was a supposed genius, yet he couldn't remember the simple rules of reproduction and how to prevent it!

The boy looked down at the pile of magazines and curled his lip. "I don't mind doing the deed, but I certainly mind the aftermath."

Sasuke knew that he wasn't in the least bit father material. He was foul-mouthed, messy, had a poor diet…the world didn't need kids who grew up like that.

But the world also didn't need kids raised by a single, teen mother.

Sasuke wasn't sure about what he thought about Michiko anymore. First she was just a play toy, but then it almost seemed like she became a lover. He had to admit that hanging out with the girl was more fun than he thought, but still…

Sasuke closed his eyes. "That damn girl has been nothing but trouble."

He, in a way, cared about the girl, but not enough to stay with her for a long period of time. Girls were clingy, money-sucking anchors that drowned a man; that was part of the reason Sasuke didn't date them until now. Michiko was going to beg him to stay with her forever; there was no way in hell he would do that. He needed to get rid of her...now.

"Sorry, Michiko," he breathed. "It's time to take out the trash."


	15. GUILTY

**GUILTY**

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and sighed heavily. Being Hokage was, without a doubt, a difficult task: negotiating with the other angry village leaders, supervising legions of deadly assassins, making all the right decisions…but she never expected having to deal with a mystery like this: the slaughter of innocent women and children and the word "SIN" written in red. The discussions around her office revolved around only one thing: what did 'SIN' mean?

_"I'll bet SIN is a person who is dealing out judgment on all the people who deserve it,"_ Shizune had said firmly that morning when bringing the newspaper to Tsunade.

_"Oh Shizune, really,"_ Tsunade responded, slapping her forehead. _"That's the stupidest thing I've_ _ever heard."_

'But it's the only guess I've heard all morning as to what it means,' Tsunade thought as she picked up a photo from her desk.

The photo depicted a mangled body of a young woman, no more than twenty-five or so, with her intestines hanging out her ripped stomach and her throat slit open. Tsunade squinted, taking a closer look at the piece of paper next to the body, and noted that the word "SIN" was written in Romaji.

"Does that have any significance?" She wondered out loud, tapping her other hand on the polished wooden surface of her desk.

She set the photo back down and picked up another one. This picture showed a young boy with his head completely severed from his body, and the same three letters written in crimson on a piece of paper. Tsunade set that aside as well and bit her lower lip, still tapping her hand loudly on the desk.

'SIN…S…I…N…'

Tsunade hesitated, but called out to her assistant. "Shizune, come here for a sec."

Shizune's head appeared around the office door. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade motioned to the pictures on her desk. "We'll definitely need some help with this…case."

Her assistant nodded her head vigorously and stepped into the office. "Are you thinking of someone in particular?"

The Hokage pulled at one of the loose strands of blonde hair that was hanging by her shoulder. "Somebody who's helped us before…like with the cat thief and the ordeal with all the graffiti…"

Shizune smiled knowingly. "You mean Sasuke?"

"Precisely."

* * *

Later that afternoon, the Uchiha was standing in front of the Hokage's large, oak desk, feeling as though he was put into the spotlight, in the middle of a huge room with the menacing woman staring at him. He knew why he was here; he just wasn't sure how'd he answer her questions.

Tsunade cocked her head and smiled. "Coffee? Tea? Anything?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke replied coldly.

She smiled and sighed, shaking her head. "Oh, Uchiha, you've always been a bit of a dick, haven't you?"

Sasuke smirked in return. "I'm sure you didn't summon me to tell me that I'm a dick."

Tsunade leaned back, resting her hands behind her head. "I'm sure you've seen the papers."

"You mean the thing about SIN?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "No, I'm talking about my horoscope," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She slammed her hands on her desk, frustrated. "Damn it, Sasuke, of course I'm talking about SIN!"

Sasuke shrugged. "Why'd you get me in here? I'm sure the ANBU are perfectly capable-"

Tsuande silenced him with a glare. "No, Sasuke, we need you, too." She looked down at her nails. "And ya know, we could pay you pretty handsomely if you helped us out here."

The man raised his brow. "Bribing me, _Hokage-sama_?" He asked, saying her name with malice.

Tsuande flicked some grime from under her fingernail, cursing silently when it didn't hit Sasuke in the face. "No, just offering some money in return for your help."

Sasuke stretched his arms and yawned. "You're lucky. I happen to know someone you can question."

The Hokage leaned forward, now interested. "Oh yeah? Who?"

Sasuke smiled as an image of a blonde-haired girl flashed through his mind. "I'll bring her by tomorrow." He turned away from her desk and waved his hand. "Trust me, you'll simply fall in _love_ with her."

Tsunade hesitated, but raised her voice. "Uchiha?"

He stopped before he got to the door. "What?"

"How are you and Naruto doing?" She asked nonchalantly.

It took a minute for Sasuke to reply. "We're over. Been over for a while."

And with that he opened the door and left, leaving a confused Fifth Hokage in his wake.

* * *

Michiko was, unfortunately, very horny. As the storm clouds rolled in throughout the course of the afternoon, she laid on her bed, reliving every second of her night at Sasuke's house. Just thinking of his body, his sweat, his heartbeat, and the many times he said her name lustily as their bodies connected physically was enough to make her heart and hormones race. Michiko didn't care about a pregnancy or Naruto anymore: all she wanted was to be with Sasuke again, to see his beautiful body and hear him moan "Oh god, _Michiko_" in her ear as he moved above her.

Michiko inhaled deeply and wrapped her arms around herself, imagining that she was with the man she loved. After that night, Sasuke had been, without a doubt, quite horrible to her. Not that she cared. If he treated like that, that was fine. She was a slave for him, would do anything to him, whether he valued her as a goddess or an animal.

'And besides,' Michiko thought, her hands sneaking down between her legs. 'The more we make love, the more he'll forget about Naruto-san.'

* * *

The rain started by nightfall. Sasuke was sipping some tea and sitting on his couch, flipping through an old nature and geology magazine. He knew he should've been looking for Michiko and telling her that he absolutely_ needed_ her to talk to Tsunade and that if she did so, he'd love her _forever_.

'Women,' Sasuke thought, resting his teacup on the arm of the couch. 'When they're desperate, they'll believe anything.'

He tossed the magazine to the floor, thinking for the first time in a while, about Naruto. How was he doing? Was he handling everything alright? Did he have any connection to the murders? What was he doing? How did he feel about Sasuke? Did he find anyone new? These questions flooded Sasuke's brain.

He stared at the steam rising from his cup, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain outside. Damn, he missed that blonde-haired man. He still loved him, which was why he couldn't see or be seen with him. He had made a deal with that bastard (what was his name again? Nao-something?) that if he dated Michiko, Naruto would be safe. What a lame deal.

Sasuke squinted his tear-filled eyes. The world was harsh, cruel. He knew that after he lost his family. But after he and Naruto had started their relationship, he thought he could be happy again, have something to love and cherish for the rest of his life.

What a bunch of bull shit. Now all he had was this _girl_ that he had no feelings towards.

…

Well, _almost_ no feelings towards, anyway.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a soft knock on his front door. Wondering who it was, he got up off the couch and dragged his feet to the door. He opened the door, readying his good punching arm in case it was someone from SIN.

"Yeah, what-" He stopped and lowered his arm when he saw who it was.

Michiko took a deep breath and tried to smile. She was soaked to the bone. Her normally bright, shiny blonde hair hung limply by her shoulders; her face was shining, with drops of water falling from the bridge of her nose; and, Sasuke was glad to notice, her white shirt was nearly transparent, with the soft outline of her breasts visible and her nipples poking out like pebbles.

Oh god, he could've fucked her right there.

Michiko's face flushed and she looked down, away from his staring eyes. "I…I came back."

All of Sasuke's resentment towards her vanished. She was just so pathetic-looking, all he wanted to do was take her in his arms. Any worries or doubts left, replaced by white hot passion and mad desire for her body.

Sasuke weakly smiled back, feeling his loins stir. "I knew you'd come back for more."

* * *

It was the wee hours of the morning, yet Sasuke couldn't get to sleep. Maybe it was because his heart was still pumping violently, even though he and Michiko had quit their love-making some time ago. It had certainly given him a rush, that was for sure.

He glanced down at the girl lying next to him, who was peacefully sleeping and had her arm draped over his bare chest. She wasn't homesick; that was good. Sasuke brushed a strand of hair away from Michiko's face and surprised himself by kissing her forehead. She looked like a little angel; there was no doubt that she was going to get into heaven.

He gently lifted Michiko's arm and quietly slipped out from under the sheets and off the mattress, being careful not to wake her. He grimaced as he did so and gingerly touched his upper back; the girl had certainly done a number on him with her nails.

Sasuke tip-toed over the pile of clothes that he had discarded hours earlier to his bedroom window and looked out at the street below. The rain had stopped, but everything was still wet. The orange light of a street lamp reflected off the damp surface of the road, and a stray dog ran stealthily across the sidewalk. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Sasuke shrugged one shoulder and turned away from the window. Unbeknownst to him, a dark-clothed figure ran across the street and out of sight, sunshine blonde hair whipping behind it, a golden cross hanging around its' neck, and a murderous intent on its' mind.

**A/N: Nothing much to say, really, except that I'm probably going to focus a lot of my attention on this story and hope to finish it by the end of July. **


	16. MEETING

**A/N: So needless to say…this fic still isn't finished. But hopefully, since I graduated high school early (yay) I'll be able to work on this and my other fics more often now that I'm done with school for the next eight months (which is when I will leave for college, of course). **

**MEETING**

Michiko groaned as her eyes blinked open to the blinding mid-morning sun. A wave of surprise and fear overcame her before she came to her senses and remembered where she was: Sasuke's bed…after a memorable night of intense and passionate love-making. The girl felt a ball of heat rise in the pit of her stomach at the thought and she couldn't help but smile and feel a sense of womanly pride at sleeping with the world's sexiest man.

Michiko stretched her arms above her head and glanced at the empty spot next to her, frowning. 'But where is he?'

As if on cue, the door to the bedroom opened and the Uchiha came in, wearing only a towel around his waist and rubbing another roughly over his soaking wet hair. Michiko brightened at the sight of the half-naked man, and the prospect of more sex.

Sasuke looked up and stopped drying his hair, smirking. "What's up, girl?"

Michiko smiled back and twisted a strand of her hair around her finger seductively. "Baby, why didn't you wake me up so we could shower together?"

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he sat down on the edge of the bed, resting the towel he had been using on his hair around his shoulders: they had only slept together twice, yet she had the nerve to start calling him "baby". "Had to get the smell of pussy off of me. We have some important business to take care of."

Michiko stopped twirling the strand of hair. "W-_we_?"

The man leaned forward and reluctantly rested his hand on top of hers'. "Yup, I'm gonna hafta ask a big favor of you today."

Michiko's heart sunk; her brother had said the exact same thing when he had asked her to "take care" of the little crippled girl (Yu-something, right? The name was right on the tip of her tongue). "Um…depends on what it is."

Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing big. Just need you to talk to someone."

Michiko sighed with relief. "Alright. Sounds easy enough…right?"

Sasuke didn't say anything, but instead just started to lightly stroke the top of the girl's hand. Such nice, soft skin…and not to mention a sweet, sexy, tight body to go with it. There was nothing in the world like the feel of a woman.

Michiko cocked her head, surprised at Sasuke's sudden affectionate action, before smiling and reaching to the floor for her clothes. "I guess we can go as soon as I'm dressed."

Sasuke remained silent, overcome by a sudden surge of lust. God, she had felt so _good _last night. Just the thought of being inside her was making his lower regions grow hot, his head swim with need, his heart race…

'…Damn, just imagine what her mouth would feel like…'

Before the girl could slip her panties on, Sasuke leaned over and pressed himself against her back, causing her to gasp lightly. He licked her ear and breathed lustily, making her shiver.

"I got another _tiny_ favor to ask, Michiko…" Sasuke whispered, slipping the towel from around his waist.

* * *

Half an hour later the two were walking out of Sasuke's house, hand-in-hand. As they headed down the sidewalk, Sasuke leaned towards Michiko and whistled lowly.

"Shit, was that _really_ the first time you've given oral?" He muttered.

Michiko blushed and laughed nervously. "Y-yeah. Was I…okay?"

Sasuke grinned. "You were more than okay. Where did you learn that technique?"

Michiko hesitated before deciding that he could handle her answer. "I've…seen a few questionable movies…"

He laughed out loud. "You mean you watch _porn_? That's fucking hilarious! And here I was thinking that you were a good girl!"

"Don't tell anyone, okay?" Michiko said in hushed tones. "If my brother ever found out I watched his naughty movies while he was gone, he won't be too happy with me."

Sasuke smirked maliciously, thinking that someday he might be able to use that information to get that bastard Naoki back. "Oh, I won't."

After a few minutes of Sasuke interrogating the harried girl about which pornographic videos she had watched ("Seriously, just tell me: was it _Wild Shinobi Girls_ or _Hot and Horny Kunoichi_?), the two had reached the building in which Tsunade's office resided.

Before they entered the building, Sasuke stopped Michiko by taking hold of her arm. "Michiko, you need to promise me that during this meeting, you'll tell nothing but the truth…alright?"

Michiko was taken back by his anxious, almost pleading tone but slowly nodded. "Y-yes, I promise."

Sasuke opened the large glass door and held it open for her. "I'm going to be holding you to that."

'If this goes as plans," he thought, 'SIN should be out of here in no time.'

* * *

After several agonizingly quiet minutes of sitting outside of the Hokage's office on stiff wooden chairs, Shizune poked her head out of the office door and beamed at Sasuke and Michiko.

"The Hokage will see you now," she chirped.

Sasuke stood up and nodded to the nervous girl. Michiko gulped and stood up on shaky legs, following him into the large office and keeping her eyes on the floor. His silence while they were waiting had intimidated her, and she couldn't help but wonder what he had planned for her. Just "talk" to someone? It certainly didn't seem like it would be as easy as that now.

"So this is who you've brought for me today, Sasuke?"

Michiko lifted her head and had to stifle back a gasp at the sight of the voluptuous woman with the long blonde hair. It couldn't be…after all this time…

'Ts-Tsunade-sama?!'

But if the Hokage recognized the girl, she certainly didn't show it. Instead, she gestured towards the chair sitting in front of a large wooden desk with indifference. "Well, take a seat, dear." She raised her brow at Sasuke and nodded at the door. "You can just sit outside, Uchiha."

Sasuke took a step forward. "Actually, I-"

Tsunade's gaze hardened and she crossed her arms. "I said, go sit outside," she said in a menacing voice.

The man sighed, turned on his heel, and walked out of the office, shutting the door behind him. Tsunade shook her head and walked behind her desk, plopping down on the high-backed leather chair behind it. She closed her eyes and blew some air out of the side of her mouth before she smiled gently and opened her eyes.

"…How are you, Michiko?"

Michiko felt her cheeks redden and couldn't help but smile back. "So you do remember me."

"Of course I do." Tsunade leaned forward and rested her elbows on the desktop. "How could I forget having to perform an emergency C-section on your mother in the middle of a forest when she was going into labor with you?" She shook her head at the memory. "Speaking of which, she's doing well, right? And Naoki too?"

The girl felt relief wash over her at the question. 'So she doesn't know about SIN…thank god.'

"They're fine," she answered politely. "Naoki and I are staying in Konoha for the time being."

The Hokage nodded absentmindedly. "Yes, I remember your mother mentioning that last time I talked to her." She winked. "Said something about keeping an eye on you two."

'Well, you certainly haven't been doing_ that_,' Michiko thought sarcastically.

"I'm curious, Michiko." Tsunade wrinkled her nose and pointed her chin at the office door. "Why are you associating yourself with such…such _assholes _like Uchiha Sasuke?"

Michiko twiddled with her thumbs and grinned proudly. "He's-he's actually my boyfriend."

Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise. 'So he and Naruto really are over…' She cleared her throat. "Oh really? And how long have you two been, er, dating?"

The girl shrugged. "Dunno, maybe about a month and a half now."

"Hm…" The woman's brow furrowed.

Michiko bit her lip and decided to continue. "I'm really very happy with him. I mean, he's a bit rough around the edges but…" She transferred her gaze to the ground. "I'm in love with him," she said firmly. "I really, really do love him with all my heart."

Tsunade stared at the girl sadly for a moment before speaking, choosing her words carefully. "Love… is a strong word, Michiko," she said quietly.

Michiko looked up at her, her face flushed. "I know, but-"

Tsunade shook her head slowly, silencing her. "After only a month and a half, sweetie? That's hard to believe."

The younger woman took a deep breath. "Promise not to tell my mom something?"

"…Sure."

She tugged on a piece of her blonde hair nervously. "I…I lost my virginity to him," she murmured.

Tsunade's brows shot to the top of her forehead and she laced her fingers together. "Really now?"

The girl nodded vigorously. "Yes, and I'm glad I did it."

The older woman shook her head disappointedly. "Oh, Michiko…" She sighed. "Please tell me you at least used some birth control."

Michiko raised her hand to her mouth and started to nervously bite the tip of her thumb, all her former fears of a pregnancy surfacing once more. "…No. No, we didn't," she said, ashamed.

Tsunade buried her face in her hands. "Michiko-" She began exasperatedly.

"But-but I'm sure if I were pregnant, he'd take care of the baby, I know it!" The young woman said shrilly.

The Hokage pursed her lips and gave the girl a cold, hard stare. "Sweetie…" She said slowly, deliberately. "How do you expect a man to love his child when he doesn't even love the child's mother?"

Michiko felt as thought she had been slapped across the face. "What do you mean?"

Tsunade leaned forward. "You don't know him, Michiko," she said quietly. "You don't know the traumatic, dark, tragic past that he is hiding, do you?"

Michiko's lip quivered. "N-no…"

"His family was murdered," the Hokage said in nearly a whisper. "His family was murdered…by his own brother." The girl's hands flew to her mouth in shock, but Tsunade continued. "It is something he will never, ever recover from, and because of that incident, he has blockaded himself from everyone else. Sasuke has been known to use others for his own personal gain, and he has never opened his heart to another human being…except for one person."

"And that's me!" Michiko wailed, tears threatening to pour from her magnificently blue eyes.

For a split second, Tsunade hesitated, thinking that it was best not to break the girl's heart any further, but instead pushed forward. "No, Michiko. It's Naru-"

"Don't you dare say that!" The girl shrieked, her cheeks wet with fresh tears. "You don't know anything! He loves me, I know it!"

Tsunade could feel tears of her own start to well in her eyes. "Just keep telling yourself that," she whispered. "Just keep telling yourself that, Michiko."

Michiko stood up so quickly that the chair toppled to the floor. "Fuck you!" She screamed. "Fuck you, you-you awful old woman!"

With that being said, the distraught girl stormed from the office while the Hokage looked on exasperatedly.

* * *

Sasuke was about to knock on the door of Tsunade's office to see what exactly was going on (the two women were taking an awfully long time, hopefully because Tsunade was viciously interrogating the girl about her brother's heinous organization) before the door slammed open and the younger of the two blonde women practically fell into his arms, his shirt becoming damp from tears and snot (" Another bad thing about women," Sasuke couldn't help but think. "They are always fucking crying.").

Sasuke stood stone still, not even bothering to wrap his arms around the sobbing girl. "So…how did it go?"

Michiko shook her head. "Let's just go," was her muffled reply.

The man's shoulders drooped, and he knew that the two didn't discuss SIN at all. It looked as though he would have to put up with the girl some more.

* * *

Three weeks later, Michiko missed her period.


End file.
